To Thee I Wed?
by butterfly collective
Summary: Matt and C.J. got married for professional reasons and are on the eve of going to Reno to divorce but will they make it there before the marriage becomes real? This story is rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, this one's a bit different, a bit more...well romantic? Hope you enjoy it...

* * *

She watched him come in the bedroom unbuttoning his cuffs, and she sat there waiting for him. It had been a hard day watching him struggle through the final debriefing on the case they had just closed out.

Not the way that they had wanted but it had been done, leaving them with a ton of fallout.

And a marriage to dissolve…one of convenience that they had entered into as part of their cover…but now that the case was over.

So was the marriage…which would be done quickly and easily enough because they had never consummated it.

They hadn't married for love though so the sexual part of the ritual hadn't been something either had worried about because they needed to legally married to provide them with the perfect cover to investigate the disappearance of a honeymooning couple on a resort island.

One billed as the perfect paradise for lovers who took that extra step of marriage. The only way to penetrate the infrastructure of the resort was to pose as a honeymooning couple.

And since only the wealthiest married couples with the highest professional and social standing were invited, their cover had to satisfy a rigorous screening process.

So they got married which began with a very brief whirlwind courtship turned engagement all properly announced in the local papers and then they held a wedding.

It took place on a gazebo built on a beach in Malibu…she dressed in a gorgeous white Versailles gown and he in black tie. Chris served as her maid of honor and Murray as the somewhat harried best man. Matt's Uncle Roy, had stood in for her deceased father and had given her away and a small cluster of their closest friends and family had been invited.

Only those in the wedding party knew the wedding was a rehearsal for the marriage that would follow. The minister who formally married them had been kept in the dark and the kiss that sealed their vows had been both sweet and saucy enough to convince any skeptic if one had been present.

They had taken a limo to the airport where Matt's Lear Jet had been waiting to fly them for the honeymoon spot where their investigation began. Roy had gone undercover as a valet and a couple agents as charter pilots.

And so it had gone…until it ended with some violent arrests…and a conclusion that left them both feeling more than a bit…raw.

When they returned to L.A. there hadn't been any rush to file divorce papers to dissolve their sham of a marriage. C.J. had gotten really quiet after the case and he hadn't pushed the issue because he knew she had some issues she needed to deal with…like how it felt for them to have the villain force them to watch each other die…only the Calvary led by Vince Novelli who had been the bartender had stopped the bad guys before they carried out their threats.

But Matt hadn't been able to shake the thought that something had changed inside him during this case, something so fundamental and it had to do with how he related to his life-long friend and business partner. She as a lawyer had tried to draw up some legal dissolution papers and he had been asked by her to review them but somehow…he hadn't done that.

But then it's not like she had removed the diamond band that he had slipped on her finger during the ceremony.

A genuine diamond for a faux wedding.

He still wore his golden band that she had given him and it had taken her some doing to get him to agree to fly off to Reno to get the divorce after a brief stop in San Francisco for one final interview on the case with several U.S Attorneys. So they could return to life before they had been married. She had teased him that she didn't want to mess up his social calendar any longer. When he returned from Nevada back home to L.A. he would be a free man again.

But he hadn't laughed at her words.

They had been staying in a hotel that overlooked the bay and provided a breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge. After their meeting with the attorneys, they had played tourists checking out the sights like the bustling activity at the Fisherman's Wharf, they had ridden the trolley cars up and down the steep hills and had walked around Golden Gate Park.

But after returning back to the hotel, they had slipped into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"What time does the plane leave tomorrow," she asked.

He finished unbuttoning his cuffs and removed his shirt, leaving his muscular chest exposed. She had seen it many times before, even tortured him by applying antiseptic on it when he got injured.

Which happened quite a lot….but she looked at him now and she sucked in her breath…because he really did look handsome and she had come close to losing him…not too long ago.

"Seven…"

He watched her as she sat on the bed, big enough for both of them though he had put his baggage in the other bedroom in the suite. Though they were married, they had never…for different reasons …not the least that it might complicate their divorce.

Mostly because it had never been that way between them, not once in all the years they had known each other and had been the closest of friends.

Intimate in every way but one..not that they hadn't shared an interesting kiss or two but she could count on one hand how many times that had happened.

And always it had been him who tried to lighten what they had shared with a joke or a comic gesture. But the way he looked at her dressed in her robe which covered her negligee…made her wonder.

But then again, they were both so sensitized from their most recent adventure…and the time they had spent in close proximity…not to mention a couple close calls…both with having their cover blown and with each other…because feelings had started to bubble to the surface…that threatened to get away from them.

Now that the case had ended, and their marriage would follow soon enough, they could return to their easy going friendship and working relationship as if none of this ever happened.

At least that's what he kept telling himself but when he had thought they would kill her right in front of him, a part of him had nearly lost it. Not that he hadn't ever freaked out when she had been in danger but it seemed different because they had been married…damn crazy actually.

Because it hadn't been for real after all…a marriage on paper but not in their hearts. Still she watched him as he paced in the bedroom after taking his shirt off and she knew that inside something warred with him and his sense that all would be normal between them…after the final papers were signed by a judge.

When she was no longer a Houston, part of a coupling that had accomplished its purpose after all…hadn't it?

He watched her look at him, sitting there on the bed, her robe slightly open showing the lacy negligee, her favorite color black.

His favorite too…he had seen her in it when they had been sharing a bungalow on the island. She hadn't need to wear it but she had anyway…even when it was just the two of them alone.

Silk and lace together in a perfect combination and cut on her body which it sculpted and the end result made his heart skip a beat. But why not, she was an attractive woman, he knew that already, he just didn't know how much.

"What's the matter Houston…?"

She wore a question on her face as her ran a hand through her luscious dark hair that had been styled nicely in their wedding photos, the ones that would be hidden away as part of the file record for a closed case.

But he had slid one in his wallet when she hadn't been looking…he didn't know why.

"I don't know C.J…I don't know why I'm feeling this way now."

She crept closer to him, sinewy as if it came naturally for her.

"I know…I feel funny too…as if I'm closing a chapter of my life and I'm not sure I want to do it."

He studied her face, which had always struck him as beautiful. Her hazel eyes that were intelligent and showed her moods…and her full lips that had felt like heaven to kiss at their wedding…and a couple times since.

He wondered what they'd taste like now…and pushed that thought away.

"I suppose it's only natural…for us to feel a bit adrift…after all, we got married even if it wasn't for real."

"It was legal Houston," she reasoned, "but I understand what you mean."

"You do…?"

She sighed, looking at him softly.

"Sure I do…it seemed so real when we did it…in front of our friends…but it's not…I mean married couples make love on their honeymoons don't they?"

"Usually…I mean I planned to after my wedding…"

She nodded.

"So did I…I figured if I ever loved someone enough to marry them, I'd probably couldn't wait until the honeymoon…I mean limos do come with tinted windows for a reason."

He smiled at her, knowing that to be true…and the thought of her in a limo still in her wedding dress, making love with her husband, their hands clasped together, with matching gold bands, their bodies joined.

Just the thought that she would do that…with someone else…felt so palpable to him…in the wrong way that it almost physically hurt. He knew he had no reason to feel that way about her, no right either. After all, their marriage had been in name only…it had never been consummated and never would…they would unseal their commitment together in Reno without much in the way of complications.

Except…that vision of her in the arms of the man who would love her the way she deserved, who would give her the pleasure that her husband should consumed him. And if he were honest with himself, it had gnawed at him for a while that somehow this marriage weren't complete.

"Houston…"

She had read his face and she had thought of how much she loved looking it. When it had been the first sight to emerge when she regained consciousness after life-saving surgery, she had called it her favorite face in the whole world.

And she had meant every word then as she would now.

"What…?"

She bit her lip.

"I want you to kiss me…"

His brows lifted and he didn't answer…not at first.

"Really…?"

She nodded and she got off the bed and went to him. He looked at her, stroking her hair off her face, while she gazed up at him. She'd been through so much in the past week and he knew for her to make that request…it had stirred up something deep inside of him.

He placed his hands on her face gently and kissed her softly on the mouth…and quickly enough remembered why he had enjoyed kissing her so much. Her lips felt soft, and welcomed his own. She threaded her arms around him and felt the muscles twitch beneath her fingers as they felt the skin of his back, warm and taut with an emotion she couldn't identify yet.

She pulled away from him finally and he still tasted her on his mouth, his breath quickening. She looked directly in his eyes as she slipped her robe off her shoulders and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as she stood before him dressed in her lacy outfit that accentuated her slender waist and her generous breasts. He put his hands on the flair of her hips and kissed her on the mouth again, this time feeling possessive of her.

He felt hard against her and she returned his kiss with ardor. He fidgeted with the lacy straps on her negligee, working them down her arms so that the tops of her breasts became visible. He stroked their perfect roundness through the lace with his hands, not believing what he was doing.

And she didn't stop him. She just smiled at him.

"You're so soft…"

"And you're…hard…"

He sighed, realizing that part of him had definitely enjoyed her kisses. He lowered her negligee enough to stroke her breasts. She just looked at him, her eyes conflicted but she didn't stop him.

"I…I want you so much…"

He kissed her while he palmed her in his hands and she gasped at the pleasure that sent through her.

"Nothing wrong with that…"

He kissed her neck, all the way up to her jaw line.

"It'll mess up everything Houston…if we…."

"Make love…you mean…"

She just nodded.

"I don't care C.J….you're my wife…and if you want for us…to consummate our marriage…I'm more than willing…."

She knew that by how he felt pressed against her but so many thoughts ran through her head…about the next morning when they had that plane to catch to Reno to undo the vows they had promised each other.

But that was hours away and right now, he was her husband. And he was kissing her slowly; purposely intent on seducing her…not that she needed much of that.

He nibbled on her earlobe.

"Ah…okay…maybe we should think about this a bit…"

But she didn't want to do that…her legal side was tying her in knots with all the complications of what they were about to do…on untangling their complicated marriage.

"Or not…Oh Houston…"

He pushed her negligee further down over her abdomen and down to her hips, then he pulled her into his arms, his chest pushing against hers, the sprigs of hair on it tantalizing her breasts by brushing against them. His kisses had always promised more than they had delivered, only because they served to tease not to satisfy.

But now nothing was stopping them, nothing was coming in between them, least of all them.

"I want you to touch me…"

So she kissed him and then reached to unsnap his pants and to slip them down his legs along with his briefs. And whoa….she had seen him but not all of him not until now. She reached out to touch him and he sucked in his breath as her hands stroked his erection.

"Don't touch me too much…."

She chuckled at the hoarseness in his voice and softened her stroking. Having him in her hands like this, it heightened her own excitement.

And his…and he worked that negligee off of her enough for it to drop to the floor for her to step out of and she sat on the bed while he worked on freeing her of that last bit of lace that enclosed that last part of her he hadn't yet seen. He knelt before her then and she bit her lip knowing what would happen next. He nudged her back on the bed and then slipped his hand over her sex, stroking the curls that adorned it, while watching her to see how she'd react.

She almost didn't want him to see…to discover the most private part of her that she kept hidden from most anyone even her lovers. And then he smiled at her before he lowered himself between her files and her heart nearly stopped when she felt the pressure of his mouth…there…and then his tongue…gently at first. That caused her to clench her fists on each side of her.

"Houston…I need…"

And he understood…she needed him inside of her and he wanted nothing more than to experience that.

"I mean I love the attention but…I need you to be my husband right now…at least tonight."

He stroked her face softly and then he settled himself between her thighs, his erection nudging at her, seeking entrance into that part of her he'd never touched. He wasn't only about to penetrate her body but a piece of her heart she had held in reserve since the death of her father.

And the trust that a man would love her who wouldn't ever leave her….and Matt's emotions built inside of him at the expression on her face, the look in her eyes, that she wanted him to make love with her and that she trusted him with her heart and her body.

He put his weight on his elbows as their bodies touched each other in all the important places, and he kissed her softly, caressing her mouth gently with his lips and some tongue.

"Please…"

He heard in her voice her elation, her fears, her strengths and her vulnerabilities…and her love.

"It's okay, darling…I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

She nodded slightly.

And that's when he eased himself inside of her, he breached the barrier that had always stood between them….and her body opened up to him sheathing him in its warmth, snugly around him.

He knew then he had never felt so wonderful as he did now…so incredibly aroused and yet relaxed. For a long moment, he didn't move but let her adjust to his penetration, as her body had stretched to accommodate his girth. The feeling of connection with her as their bodies joined…stopped him as their eyes locked.

He wanted to stay like that…well for much longer than his body would allow him…because nature demanded that his hips began thrusting, that he'd bury himself deeply enough so that when he ejaculated, his seed would have the best chance of fertilizing any ova that she had released that waited.

But neither of them considered the biological imperative to reproduce, they focused on the sheer joy of union, of him flexing his hips to thrust deeply inside of her and when he withdrew, her pushing her hips up to meet his return.

Slow and lazily alternating with hard and quick, he varied his movement to maximize her pleasure and his own, and she wrapped her legs around him, and the slickness of her skin matched his own.

She grabbed his back, digging deeply into his skin as the pleasure of the friction generated between them increased inside her…and her breath quickened as did her heartbeat to match his…as they moved together faster and faster, her opening herself further up to him and he thrusting deeper inside her still.

And she felt her heart melt as he penetrated that too joining in a union which had began at the altar of their wedding. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health as long as they both should live.

She thought about those words when her climax hit her, several seconds before he found his own…the warmth of his seed filled her and she cried along with him as they reached the pinnacle together.

She reached up and kissed him, their bodies still joined and their hearts weaving themselves together though they didn't know that yet. She lay with her head on his damp chest afterward, their bodies still intertwined, their marriage consummated.

Man and wife, together…waiting to see what the morning would bring as she fell asleep in his tight embrace, their hands clasped together.

And as the moonlight flowed through the window, it reflected twin bands of gold.


	2. Chapter 2

C.J. woke up first and looked at the clock, which read eight am. Oh damn they both overslept and missed their flight to Reno.

The one they were taking to rush out of the state to get their marriage annulled…only now that might be a bit harder since they had consummated it by hitting the sheets last night. She closed her eyes and lay back in bed as the events of the late night and earlier morning hours hit her.

Oh god, they hadn't just consummated their marriage once…but she counted inside of her head. Did only sexual intercourse count as…oh never mind. Either way they were definitely in trouble.

She wondered what Matt would have to say about it if he woke up. She looked at him buried under his sheets, at least his sumptuous bottom half but his bare chest was visible and he looked damn peaceful in slumber. He had crashed first after that last time but then he was a guy…and he had done so with a smile on his face.

They both had conked out…worn out by lack of sleep and too much…pleasure.

So they missed their flight to Reno and this thing with their marriage had just gotten more complicated because she had hit the wine a bit and felt a bit frisky last night. No, that wasn't quite it…she had wanted him badly enough without the liquor. She had gotten caught up in the wedding, the whole charade where they posed as a married couple on an investigative case…where they came so close to watching each other die that…she realized as did he that they skipped over the honeymoon and they really needed to do something about that.

Which didn't make much sense because they had been planning on the annulment but now…water under the bridge because they had to come up with another plan…because they had messed up the original one by having sex.

But again, years of pent up passion that a friendly kiss every two years or so did nothing to stem…once the flames of lust had combusted between them, neither took any prisoners. It had probably been a long time coming and for both of them…once they hooked up not nearly as long.

They certainly had made up for years of self-denial all last night and the rumpled sheets testified to that but she had thoroughly enjoyed herself and from the way he acted and sounded last night, he had too. Actually the sex had been incredible between the two of them, as if they had all this pent up energy and underlying passion about to burst and she supposed they did….but now it was spent and Matt was still out like a light.

She didn't know if she should leave him but she really had to get up out of their marital bed and figure out what to do next. The analytical lawyerly side of her screamed that they were really in deep now with a marriage that had been consummated and thus would be even more difficult to untangle themselves from than it had been already. She still felt raw from what had almost gone terribly wrong with this latest case and that probably had catalyzed her to ask Matt to kiss her last night.

Because that request had started the ball rolling, with them kissing, touching, taking their clothes off and making love…for at least the first time. She ran her hand through her hair as she looked at her husband…god she had wanted him so much and when their bodies had been united…at last, she had nearly cried. And then she had compounded the ruination of their annulment by how many…repeat performances?

What could she say now, except she couldn't get enough of him and as it turned out, he loved doing the horizontal mambo as much as she did.

She realized under everything, that she loved him. And not just like a best friend and a colleague but as the wife that had become his lover. But in the light of the morning after, she knew that she had put herself in grave risk of a broken heart. Far different than the times when their lives had been on the line like last week but still…painful in its own way.

God, what was she going to do now…head over heels in love with her husband as well as in incredible lust and she knew he might read the last night differently than she did…and she had to be the sensible lawyer here and be ready and able to work towards dissolving the legal and marital ties that bound them together. For the better of both of them and their futures.

She heard him stir next to her, still smiling and she couldn't help herself. She reached out with her fingers and stroked his face. The one that she had been staring at when she had been on top of him riding him like a…well anyway, where they had been…close.

His eyes blinked open from her touch or for another reason, she didn't know but the smile remained on his face as he yawned.

"What time is it?"

"Past eight Houston…we missed the flight to Reno."

He lifted himself on his elbow and didn't seem all that concerned.

"What's for breakfast…we can order from room service."

He sat up, the sheet still wrapped around his waist where underneath…well she knew now what he had been hiding under his clothes all these years and all she had to say was…wow…but that was neither here nor there and wasn't going to help them straighten out this quagmire caused by one incredible and passionate night of sex. Their long-time friendship was in jeopardy, they couldn't annul; their marriage fast enough and here he was thinking about his stomach.

How much like a man…concerned about the second most important part of his anatomy.

He picked up a menu, from where she didn't know. But he flipped through it.

"The omelets are supposed to be world famous…especially the Texan special…"

She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself on the bed…he marveled at the beauty in front of him. If he had known she'd look so breathtaking without a stitch of clothing, maybe he would have married her years ago.

"C.J. look Belgian waffles…you like those don't you…and I bet they come with mangos."

Ah, he remembered her vice and yeah, indulging in a delicious breakfast might do them both a world of good right now.

"Okay…and some eggs on the side and some juice and coffee…and croissants with orange marmalade…and…"

"You're sure hungry this morning…maybe we should have a little bit of everything."

She nodded, that decision made easily enough…the only such one this morning. He placed the order after getting up and giving her a look at his great ass…assets. Oh god, she needed to turn on a fan in here…the way it was starting to heat up. He got a robe from the closet and slipped it on over his body and tossed her one as well.

She just looked at it.

"C.J. if I had my wish, you'd never wear a stitch of clothing again…but you might feel more comfortable with something on…"

Yeah maybe, so she slipped it on over her body which felt a bit achy but then again some of the positions they had been in last night…were best done in yoga class. He noticed she rubbed her arms.

"You sore…we can hit the hot tub after breakfast…"

She looked over at it wistfully.

"That might be nice…I thought I was in great shape but…I guess not all my muscles."

He chuckled and walked over to massage her shoulders…oh my god…the way he stroked and kneaded her pressure points should be a crime and some of her nether parts were feeling a lot better as well.

"Houston…"

She hated to hit the difficult topics before they had even eaten breakfast but she had to cut through to the chase.

"About last night…"

She winced at the cliché she had just used but Matt didn't seem to notice that part of it because there he went grinning again and looking so damn sexy doing it…god it made her weak in the knees when he looked at her like that.

Like he could see underneath her robe…her skin warmed and she smiled back at him, trying to soften what she had to say.

"We need to talk about it…"

He gazed at her.

"Yeah I know…I had no idea…really that making love with you would be what it turned out to be…the most amazing night…in a very long time…"

She looked away from him, his words making her feel like she wanted to relive the night he spoke of all over again but…

"Houston, I'm sorry…"

"What do you have to be sorry about…?"

Oh that sexy voice again…the one who had whispered endearments …some of which couldn't be said in mixed company…and her resolve was weakening.

But she sighed, playing with the sash on her robe.

"I got a little bit out of control…"

He grinned again.

"I'd say so…except I was right there with you…and…those high peaks we hit together…I thought I'd never felt so much...best sex I've ever had."

She blinked her eyes.

"Really….?"

"Damn straight, in fact you can't see right now but under my robe…I'm getting hard just thinking about it."

Oh god…no…she…he…they couldn't repeat the mind blowing sheet wrinkling sex of last night and early this morning…no they had to sit down and talk about what happened and what move to make next like rational thinking adults…oh damn she really wanted to see under his robe.

He licked his lips clearly amused.

"We're still married C.J. which means we're still on our belated honeymoon and you know what that means…"

She paused reading the intent clear in his eyes…oh my…

"What Houston?"

"It means that the odds of us leaving this suite today…are less than even…"

Her blood rushed at how matter of fact he listed the house odds of them not spending the rest of the day consummating their marriage again and again. No wait a minutehere, time to be sensible.

And stop think about him underneath his robe.

"Houston we…can't…."

"Why not…?"

She sighed.

"Last night…well things got a bit…warm…"

"You mean hot don't you…especially when we…"

She just sighed as she got out of bed and he watched her closely as she moved past of him…making sure she was out of reach just in case…

"C.J. you're not thinking about heading off to Reno today…we missed our flight."

"Jet Sky airlines has a fight to Reno from here once every hour…if we…"

He folded his arm.

"I'm not going to Reno today…so you might have to go yourself…although it's going to take both of us to sign the papers to annul this marriage."

"We can't Houston…because we consummated our marriage last night."

"Okay then…forget about Reno and let's concentrate on having fun together…"

She shook her head.

"Houston…we need to talk about how we're going to work this out…"

He lay back on the bed, stretching out with his hands behind his bed watching her worry the carpet.

"WE need to get that divorce…"

"No…"

"WHAT?"

He smiled widely at her.

"I've changed my mind C.J…I don't want a divorce…not after last night."

She just stared at him not believing what she heard.

"How can you base staying married on one sexual episode?"

He refused to budge.

"I've made my mind up…I'm not divorcing you…right now…come back and ask me in..Say 30 days…"

He watched her try to process that with a huge smile.

"But…"

"No buts C.J. except the one I was holding onto when we…"

"Houston!"

He heard the doorbell ring and realized their food had arrived. C.J. just followed him with her incredulous and sexier than hell looking eyes but he had his mind made up. Their marital vows might not wind up being until death they do part but they would last long enough until they sorted everything out including their feelings.

She just shook her head at him and left the room….he grinned to himself, thinking of how to get her to change her mind.

Let the games begin, he thought as he pushed the cart of their favorite foods inside the suite and closed the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Matt sunk into the hot tub of course without a stitch of clothing on, which is just the way he always liked it. Even when soaking in his office Jacuzzi, the one visible from the elevator and he made it a practice to never wear anything but his faded cowboy hat.

But he kept at least a robe close by in case the elevator doors opened and sometime tried to take a shot at him or something like that. It hadn't happened yet but in his line of work, you just never knew.

C.J. had watched him get inside to join her of course unable to keep her eyes off of his amazing physique. She probably should admit to Matt that this wasn't the first time she had seen him get in or out of the tub…she just never made a big show of it. Always catching an eyeful on the fly as she came or went.

"Houston…how long do you plan on staying in here?"

He smiled at her, reaching for his cowboy hat which he had actually packed in his suitcase.

"Oh…an hour or so…I do my best thinking in here…and we have to settle the 30 days issue…one way or another before either one of us leaves here."

She sighed, oh that…she had been the one who had wanted to fly to Reno early this morning so they could hit the courts and get a judge to annul their marriage of convenience…at least when it could still be annulled.

Until last night when they had hit the sheets and consummated the marriage…how many times…she still couldn't remember but it had been the most pleasurable night of her life…with the sexiest man she had ever been with in the Biblical sense.

Now in the lightness of day, reality struck and they had missed their plane and Matt hadn't wanted to rush to the airport to catch another flight. And his fleet of Lear Jets was all in Texas.

Speaking of which, Murray was due to call them soon about some deal that had been made that neither Matt nor C.J. had time to focus on because they were too busy running around playing married for a case. But then it was all for them to even remember that Matt had a business empire because they had been busy focusing on their investigative firm.

And where the hell was Uncle Roy…because they were supposed to brief with him but he had met up with an ex-flame who had been a covert operative and they were spending the weekend in Palm Springs.

"Houston…I can't do this…I can't stay married to you…it's just not right…it's not natural to stay married because it's just business…"

He digested that as he leaned backward. There was something entirely wrong with this picture…not so much in what she had said but that she had gotten into the hot tub wearing a bikini…which he really, really liked but not as much as her bare skin.

Damn she had a great body and she really didn't need to be wearing clothes in the hot tub. He sat there while she continued supplying reasons why they couldn't remain married trying to figure out how to get her out of that bikini.

"Houston…are you listening to me…"

He lifted his face up and met her eyes.

"Yeah…you said something about it being just business…"

She sighed, enjoying the bubbling water way too much. She felt her muscles relax and didn't want her resolve to follow.

"I said that marriages based on business decisions for particular circumstances aren't meant to last."

"Says who?"

She didn't expect a challenge from him so she had to pause to think up an appropriate response.

"Well Houston…you've been engaged before…"

"But never married…until now."

"I know but when you were engaged….didn't you love the women…so much that you didn't want to live apart from them?"

He furrowed his brow.

"Well yeah I did…but the weddings never took place…though for some pretty bizarre and tragic reasons."

She closed her eyes not wanting to push him on an unwanted trip down memory lane. But she had been trying to make a point, this marriage between them just couldn't last and she didn't want their life-long friendship to be a casualty.

That would just devastate her because she loved him so much.

"C.J…I told you that I'm not ending this marriage in Reno or anywhere else until 30 more days pass."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Houston…that's some arbitrary number isn't it….not based on anything else?"

He looked at her directly from beneath his hat.

"It's a standard figure I use for making critical decisions that don't have to be made on the spot."

She rubbed her forehead with her hand, trying to keep up with him. The bottom line being that he wasn't going to give her the divorce for a month.

At least.

He read her face.

"C.J. there isn't any particular reason why you want this divorce now…another fellow waiting in the wings perhaps?"

She hadn't told him that she had been dating anyone before they took the case but then she didn't tell him everything.

Like about when she had gotten that sexy little tattoo of a frog on her belly, just below her bikini line.

"No Houston…there's no one else…I wouldn't have agreed to the marriage if there had been…someone serious."

He nodded. The same rule applied to him but there had only been casual dalliances since he broke his engagement with Elizabeth.

But nothing about last night had been casual to him… he wondered if she knew that because it hadn't looked casual to her either.

"C.J…why don't you just relax a bit…and we'll discuss this later…"

She nodded.

"You're right…and this spa is just what I needed."

He shot her a nice smile.

"Those jets are real nice aren't they?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Houston…don't you dare…

He used that as an opportunity to move closer to her until he faced her.

"Can I sit next to you?"

She looked at him warily.

"Why…?"

He smiled.

"No reason…"

"You always have a reason Houston…fess up."

He slid into the seat next to her and their shoulders touched. She glanced over at him sitting there looking far too innocent.

"What are you up to now?"

"I'm looking to kiss my wife…that's all."

She arched a brow.

"Really, why don't I believe you?"

He sighed, moving his face closer to hers.

"Because of last night…?"

If she had been about to say something, his mouth stopped her when it settled on hers. He kissed her lips, gently at first before he started exploring her mouth, sliding his tongue deliciously across it. It almost made her jump.

She kissed him back, because after all they were married and yes, they would be getting divorced but until then…He got off his seat and drifted to the center of the hot tub pulling her with them and with some degree of splashing.

"Houston…."

He wrapped his arms around her and she did likewise as they kissed in the center with steam rising around them.

Then he started fiddling with her bikini straps. She shot him a look.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"C.J…you're a tad bit overdressed."

That brow arched up again.

"Says who…you…you've never touched a hot tub with a stitch of clothing on…"

He just smiled and kept fiddling.

"Says the one who wants to seduce my wife…"

He kissed her again, and explored her mouth with his tongue this time…while untying her top. She let him, more than happy to be in his arms again. And when her top floated down her into the bubbling water leaving her breasts exposed to him…she didn't even blush.

"Houston…you really think you can last 30 days married?"

He looked affronted, but his eyes twinkled.

"I know I can…how about you…?"

He began casually or not caressing her breasts with his fingers, before lowering his head to taste them. She sighed when his lips brushed against them, before engaging in further exploration. Damn, he had learned quickly enough last night how much she enjoyed that.

"Houston…ooh…."

He read that to mean she definitely enjoyed the attention he was giving her and continued, taking a nipple inside his mouth, marveling how it hardened.

Just like an important part of his own anatomy. She suddenly looked at him breathless.

"You want to take this elsewhere…?"

He nodded and they left the hot tub and left a trail of clothes on their way to hitting the sheets.

* * *

They curled up together afterward, her face on his chest…as they settled back into their more normal rhythms.

"So what do we do?"

He stroked her arm at her words.

"We enjoy ourselves here for a while and then we head back home."

She remained silent, contemplating that when he continued.

"And then we decide where we're going to live…."

"Houston, we both have our own homes…"

He squeezed her closer to him.

"I think as long as we're married we should live together…in the same place…"

She smiled.

"Okay fine…so where will that be?"

"I'm fine with either place…but since neither of us spends a lot of time at home…maybe we should live together at the office."

She chuckled, because in a way that was true…they were becoming married to their work in a matter of speaking.

"We could change that…because now that I'm married I intend to spend much more time with my familial responsibilities."

"Oh…and what are those?"

He sighed.

"My wife…and…"

"Houston, don't tell me you're talking about children…because that's way…way out of…"

"Actually I was thinking about a pet…maybe a gold fish?"

She laughed.

"Actually I missed the ranch…when you had horses and cows and dogs…and frogs…"

So did he actually…but he had sold it when his professional life and the agency's growth just got so damn complicated.

"Your place or mine…or we could buy our own house…"

"Maybe we should rent…"

"Nah…I want to buy…a nice big home with plenty of bedrooms…"

She sighed again, daring herself not to follow him in that scenario.

"Why don't we try your beach house…I've always wanted to be by the ocean and I can hire someone to look after my place…"

"Okay…my beach house it is…and I'll leave you plenty of space…"

She nodded.

"I won't bring that much stuff."

His silence made her chuckle because she knew what he was thinking.

"Okay…maybe a few suitcases but no jokes about needing a trailer Houston…"

She looked up at him and he kissed her mouth softly, sealing that deal.

* * *

They eventually got dressed to go out to the Fisherman's Wharf to walk around for a while and then head to a sea food restaurant before heading off to stay in a bed and breakfast in a nearby town later this afternoon.

She dressed in casual jeans and a jersey, wearing her favorite ankle boots. He chose the casual look also and they took the rented car to the Wharf not noticing that they had attracted a tail…


	4. Chapter 4

"Houston…not while we're driving…"

Okay, maybe technically the car hadn't been moving but he had spent the time waiting for the light to change by kissing her and placing one of his hands on her thigh.

"C.J…we aren't moving…must be an accident…"

She chuckled.

"I think it's called a traffic jam."

The light finally did turn and they headed off to the Fisherman's Wharf to drop by Pier 39 where there were a lot of shops and restaurants. They were so focused on the journey and the scenery around them, not to mention Matt's attempts to seduce her inside the vehicle every time it stopped that…they didn't see the car behind them.

But they finally reached the pier and C.J. took in all the sights…the stores…because she really wanted to do some shopping…to unwind from the case and just feel like a normal person again.

Granted, one that had married her best friend to work that case and now they were left figuring out what to do next…in the future anyway. Because they had both missed the flight to Reno where they were to get their marriage annulled…no wait they couldn't because of last night's activities.

Okay, better to stick to having fun then and leave the complicated issues of their…marriage alone for a while. They parked the car and got out of it and right away, he took her hand in his own as they explored the mall together. She gravitated to some of the clothing vendors but some specialty shops as well. She bought some gifts for the women back at the office including Chris...and something for Murray as well.

They walked out to deck where they could watch sea lions cavorting in the water. Matt mentioned something about wanting to do some bungee jumping and she just laughed at him and said that the rappelling down the building they had done on that last case should have been enough to quiet down their adrenalin rushes for now.

A cruise boat took them around the harbor where the breezes blew their hair back and invigorated them. The harbor was beautiful and filled with activity and more than once she thought about ditching L.A. and coming up to the Bay Area to settle down.

"We could do it…"

"Do what Houston?"

He smiled at her as they stood at the rail of the boat.

"Move up here…we can even relocate the agency."

She sighed.

"It's a nice thought and you read my mind but L.A.'s not too bad…though I might look into some property up here to stay in some times…when life's not so hectic."

"That sounds nice…as long as it has a hot tub…"

She laughed.

"Oh you and your hot tub…though it's fun to share one with you…"

He smiled at her.

"Likewise…"

He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer to him as they looked out at the sun moving upwards into the sky, a nice warm if breezy day. He figured they'd do several days here and then head back to L.A. so that she could get her situated in the beach house for the trial period before she could ask again for a divorce.

Of course he had no intention of giving her one without trying to convince her otherwise and he didn't have long time to do it. He would have to think up a plan of action….

C.J. looked out at the sunlight dancing on the water…and the other boats around the harbor. She felt his arm around her and she'd glance at him sideways because she didn't know what he was thinking about now.

Was he thinking about this marriage…and why did he want to stretch it out longer than it had been necessary…meaning for the case they had completed. They could walk away from each other right now…at least as husband and wife and just go back to being friends.

But then she thought of the incredible sex last night…and this morning and tonight?

Her face flushed warmly at the thought of that…of getting back on the road to head to that bed and breakfast place in a town not too far away from here. After getting a bite to eat at one of the bayside restaurants…there were quite a few to choose from. The scenic view from the boat proved to be breathtaking but the company she kept…wow…she couldn't believe that she actually hooked up with him. She glanced at him and saw him looking out into the water…a contemplative look on his face.

What was he thinking and was it similar to what ran through her head? That she didn't want to break it off with him…she wanted to stay married…silly though to think like that considering the circumstances.

He squeezed her waist and she looked up at him placing her hand on his chest as he reached down and kissed her softly on the mouth. Damn she loved how he did that…but then he had been at it since he was a young teen and already attracting the girls. He pulled her into his arms and his mouth probed hers, slipping in a bit of tongue. He was never forceful about it, always gentle if a little insistent…but the feel of him inside her mouth, stroking the inside with it. Yowee….that was all that came to mind because he could be scorching hot when he wanted.

She stroked his collar in between her fingers as she returned her kiss answering his tongue stroking with a little bit of her own…and he held his breath for a moment and then released it. She could feel his chest moving against hers and his body harden against hers. Biting her lip gently, she pulled away looking at him.

"I wish we weren't here…I mean I love the view but…"

He nodded, looking at her.

"Yeah…I know…me too…"

"Well after we head back to the restaurant and eat some late lunch and then head on that lovely scenic drive…"

He gulped thinking what she was thinking.

"There's that cape, you know at the halfway point that's got an even more gorgeous view…."

He sighed, happily.

"You're asking me to park with you?"

She nodded, fidgeting with his clothes.

"If you'd like…otherwise…"

It was a damn bit of a drive to the inn and they had to check in and unpack…well maybe not do that but…

"I think it's a great idea counselor…"

She suspected that he would…they had both spent their share of time inside cars steaming up windows with others while growing up in Texas…it had been exciting if not always comfortable.

* * *

The boat headed into shore and they disembarked to head off to the restaurant which served steak and fish, and had an outside eating area that provided a pretty impressive view.

The waiter gave them menus while they ordered some wine. The breeze remained gentle and they looked out at the boats drifting through the water. Matt poured them both wine in the goblets and they made a toast.

"To us…to the future…"

She clinked her glass with his and wondered what it would hold for them. She looked down at her wedding ring and then back up at him.

"Yeah…that sounds nice…"

He looked at her carefully, sitting there with her hair around her face and her eyes reflective.

"We need to talk about a few things…"

She sipped her wine.

"Like what?"

"Like children…"

She put her glass down not believing she heard him right.

"What do you mean by children?"

"Ours of course…how many are we talking about here?"

She just stared at him a moment, nearly speechless.

"C.J…this discussion comes up in ever marriage…although usually before the wedding."

Her mouth remained partly open.

"Surely you've thought about it."

She finally took a deep breath to center herself.

"Houston…we're not going to be married long enough for that…"

He looked at her amused.

"Well…okay maybe not…but we should still have this discussion anyway."

"Why?"

"Because it wouldn't hurt to talk about it…say we were to stay married and not run off to Reno and untie the knot in some long complicated mess…what would tell me?"

She had to think about it and she didn't dare take her eyes off of him because he was absolutely untrustworthy when he looked at her like that and started asking awfully personal questions.

"Okay I'll bite…I want…kids…not right now but later on…in my marriage…"

"How much later on…"

She met his gaze with a smile.

"More than 30 days…"

"Oh…okay, how many kids are you talking about…four, five?"

Her eyes widened.

"Okay Houston, you have to remember who'd be carrying your children…"

He smiled widely then.

"I don't think I could ever forget that."

The trace of so many things she didn't expect to hear in his voice grabbed at her and she softened her stance.

"Okay…but I'd start at two and then think about having more…my husband would have to work a little to convince me…

"Okay that's fair enough…"

"And he would have to make sure to keep the house stocked up with my favorite foods no matter how strange they get."

He nodded.

"And give good massages…"

"I think I can manage that…"

She looked down at her hands.

"I really do want to have kids…I just hope I can be a good mom to them."

He sought out her eyes, with his own.

"Hey…you're going to be a great mom when you're ready to be one."

She smiled as the waiter approached with their food.

"You're going to be a great dad…"

Matt watched the expression change on her face as they talked and he knew that he had found what he wanted in his present and his future but convincing her…it would be a busy month…and the first thing he'd have to get was an extension.

At a nearby table, a man sat and watched them carefully while they ate.


	5. Chapter 5

Matt really could be impossible, C.J. thought as she readjusted her clothing after they had been making out in their parked car at the edge of a ridge overlooking the gorgeous view of the ocean stretching out to the horizon.

He had insisted on stopping halfway to the bed and breakfast inn to show her this breathtaking view of the horizon and what woman worth her salt seriously fell for that line anymore?

Not her, the Harvard trained attorney and sophisticated investigator. Matt had to seriously know that she was way too smart for him and any of his seductive ploys. But then again, she had been wrapped up in his arms a moment after the car's engine had gone off and he had started kissing her mouth like he owned it.

His tongue had slipped inside expertly enough, and her own eagerly met it. Excitement filled her as he maneuvered his hand beneath her shirt before she even felt it. Her breast arched into his palm as his eyes widened.

"You're not wearing a…"

"No Houston. I decided not to keep it on."

"When…"

Her eyes sparkled as he searched them for answers.

"That's for me to know and you to think about or not."

His eyes grew hopeful.

"Did you slip anything else off when I wasn't looking?"

She grinned, touching his face with her fingers.

"I guess you'll have to find out won't you?"

He kissed her lips, probing their softness as he pushed her down against the leather seat.

"Ouch…I think I just found the gear shift."

He sighed.

"Yeah I forgot we're in a car."

She chuckled at his frustration.

"I guess we'll have to swap positions here."

He nodded.

"That might work."

So she had straddled his lap, facing him only that hadn't been much less awkward. She felt his hardness against her, and she sucked in her breath He placed his hands on her and kissed her. She welcomed his mouth on her own and deepened his kiss causing her to murmur against him.

"This feels so nice."

He couldn't disagree with that, because the way her body pressed against his elicited pleasure.

"I can't we're parking."

He waggled his eyebrows.

"Why yes I suppose we are counselor," he said, "It's been a while since I've done this with anyone."

"Me too… and we narrowly avoided getting spotted by the police."

"Arrested for indecent exposure?"

She sighed against him.

"Well yeah Houston, what we're doing could be considered illegal…especially if any more clothes came off."

"I was working on that…but I'm beginning to think the car's not the best place for that."

She agreed.

"So how far is this bed and breakfast anyway?"

He thought about that.

"I'm guessing about another 45 minutes…if the directions are right."

She arched a brow at him.

"You mean you don't know if we're even heading in the right direction."

He smiled at her, stroking her hair back with his finger.

"I'll tell you what…if it's clear we're totally lost, there's plenty of other places to finish what we're starting."

She nodded.

"Got you but I heard this place is quite nice…very romantic."

He smiled again, pleased that she was clearly getting into the mood of this honeymoon trip. It would be critical to getting this 30 day trial marriage deal to a good start. He still had it in his head that they weren't going to be getting divorced any time soon.

Reluctantly, he started to shift in his seat.

"We'd better get moving then but I definitely want to pick off where we left elsewhere."

She nodded readily and she untangled herself from him and sat back in her seat. Damn she was getting herself in some serious trouble here because she really had wanted him just now in an elemental and very primal way. She couldn't because they were best friends and she wondered how that would work. How after they ended their marriage would they slip back into their familiar roles of being friends who kept their hands to themselves?

All she could think about right now was how much she wanted him. Just him and not anyone else and she couldn't think of anything else. She had been in love before, with men who had been tragically taken from her and a man who sat in state prison currently serving a life sentence for murder and other crimes. The man that she had just kissed a moment ago had been the mainstay in her life, the one person who she could truly count on to always be there for her. When she had been lying in hospital beds with bullet wounds, he had been there holding her hand when she woke up. When she had been abducted by some psychotic killer or terrorist, he had rescued her.

And when she had amnesia, she hadn't even known the man who she saw engaged in a shootout with crooked deputies while breaking up a prostitution ring in some dusty town in Arizona. She had argued with him and threatened to quit their company and their friendship over his accusations about Robert Tyler but once again it hadn't taken her to come to her senses. That Matt wouldn't ever hurt her unless it was necessary to protect her from greater harm.

But as she looked over at him driving down the highway, she realized that he had a greater capability to hurt her than any other man…perhaps without realizing he held that power. He might do that if he decided that if he ended the marriage with her but then she reminded herself that was exactly what he had to do. After all, she couldn't hamstrung him in this marriage of convenience because…she loved what they had shared the last several days.

Even when the case had…become so dangerous that they had stared mortality in the eye together….She had learned in one flash of a moment that if she lost him…a part of her would forever be lost too. When the mastermind behind the plot they had uncovered had threatened to kill them both in front of each other, she hadn't thought of her death but of his.

She would have died then knowing that he had preceded her, her last moments would resonate with his loss. That had felt physically painful in a way that resonated with her still. She didn't know how she could ever face losing him…if she allowed herself to succumb to her feelings for him that had erupted in recent days, she knew she couldn't deal with him if he weren't there.

The pain she'd feel if he left her because he fell in love with another woman would hurt in a much different way and Matt did fall in and out of love pretty readily it seemed to her.

"C.J…"

His voice interrupted her thoughts, and she felt relieved about that. She turned to look at him.

"What Houston?"

He grinned.

"I think I found the right place…"

She looked around her as they turned off the highway and saw the span of the Pacific Ocean next to them and they turned onto a windy tree-lined road to what had to be near the edge of a ridge, near the shore. The Victorian structure, three stories high and painted in different shades, including umber, tan and darker browns loomed ahead of them. They parked in the lot and got out of the car. The freshly salted breeze struck them, invigorating them after the long car ride. They went to get their luggage and went inside to the front lobby which was elegantly decorated with a mix of antiques and contemporary décor.

A woman greeted them with a smile and they signed in to get their keys.

"Welcome to your inn…meals are served in the dining room and everything's made with the freshest ingredients and home cooked."

"It's beautiful here," C.J. said, "Is there a beach nearby?"

The woman nodded.

"There's a flight of stairs that will take you down to the private beach outside the back patio."

C.J. smiled.

"Sounds lovely…"

The woman smiled at them as she handed them the keys.

"Are you honeymooners?"

Matt and C.J. looked at each other.

"Most definitely," Matt said, putting his arm around her wife, "so you might not see very much of us."

C.J. slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Hey I'm just being candid here…in fact we'd better get a move on now."

The woman just smiled as they grabbed their luggage and went to their suite up stairs. C.J. opened the door and her eyes widened.

"It's better than the brochure."

The room boasted a king sized four poster bed and antique dresser and a desk and chair near a loveseat by a window with lovely curtains. The wallpaper gave it a classical look and the room had a cheery, cozy feel. She started to go inside but Matt stopped her.

"We're going to do this right."

She just looked at him.

"Do what right?"

He swept her off of her feet and into his arms and they went over the threshold together.

* * *

She sighed as she lay under the covers with Matt's arms around her and watched the sunlight began to fade and shadows gather on the room's walls. Once he had put her down on the floor and gotten the luggage, he had closed the door and then they had fallen into each other's arms, kissing each other and removing clothing which lay strung all over the room right now.

When he pressed her against the softness of the comforter, she had watched him get on the bed on top of her and as soon as their bodies touched, she had trapped him by wrapping her legs tightly around him. As if he had it in his mind to be anywhere else right now. When he kissed her and she had wrapped her arms around him gripping his muscular back. She just couldn't get enough of him and when she opened up to accept him inside her, she heard him sigh in pleasure against her.

After they came back down to earth again, she thought to herself as their bodies slickened with perspiration lay together that she shouldn't be doing this with him because when they divorced, it would make it much harder to let him go. But then the other side of her argued that she didn't want to waste this chance to experience the closeness she felt with him now even if it were only for a brief time. If needed, she could experience enough memories to last the rest of her life.

Matt had kissed her softly afterward and murmured endearments in her ears before he had fallen asleep. Part of her wanted to leave him and go off and think and the other part, wanted his arms around her forever. She wanted to wake up with him in the mornings and sleep with him at night. But their lives…their lifelong relationship had seemed simple enough but now things had gotten so complicated between them they had to work out a divorce which would have been a lot less complicated if they hadn't consummated their marriage.

She sighed as she thought about her decision to do just that because it had come to her in one moment that she wanted to make love to her husband, the man she had married for the purposes of a case but then again he hadn't stopped her. He had given her everything that she had to him and more…she didn't want it to end and it had to do that so she had to find a way to accept that future.

But as she cuddled against the warmth of his body, she thought that could wait a while longer.


	6. Chapter 6

Murray somehow found them deep in the rural coastal area where they had gotten cozy inside a bed and breakfast hotel.

Probably because they hadn't parked their cell phones outside their love nest. Matt picked up his phone finally and had to pull it away from his ear because his corporate president had been jabbering so frantically.

Something about the market shares falling that morning. Of course they were, because they were sitting in the middle of a recession. But Matt knew from experience, the best thing to do for all involved was to sit tight and ride it out.

Like a bucking bronco, even though Matt usually got tossed off of every kind real or mechanical. C.J. lay on her side beside him, dressed only in her blue silky robe which wasn't staying on much longer as he tried to calm Murray down.

"Murray…it's going to be just fine…the merger papers are probably still in transit…the company's in the middle of a transit strike."

"But Houston…we've got millions poured into that deal…if if goes south…"

Matt sighed.

"Murray, we're not going belly up over this…there'll be plenty of cash flow from the other subsidiaries. Now I need you to calm down or Chris is going to need to go get the smelling salts again."

Murray groaned.

"Oh no…I hate the way they smell…I'll be fine really…big guy…after I hear back from Myron in Tokyo."

"You do that then…," Matt said, shooting his wife a look, "and then get back to me…after my honeymoon…"

A long stretch of silence…and then Murray finally broke it.

"Oh yeah boss…how are you and C.J. doing?"

"We're doing just fine…we're using our time together very well…"

Making up for lost time more likely, he thought but he just couldn't keep his eyes off of the beautiful woman in bed with him right now and as soon as he got Murray off the phone…

"Got it boss…well don't let me keep you…have a good honeymoon and see you soon."

Matt clicked off the phone thinking not too soon. But Murray had really raised a fuss over nothing. Their company wasn't going belly up anytime soon…but he wondered to himself what would happen if it did go bankrupt for whatever reason. For the first time in his life, he wouldn't be wealthy.

Life would be a whole lot different then but he knew one constant would remain with him and that was C.J. She'd never been interested in his money or her money when they started raking it in after becoming successful. Their friendship had been completely separate from their professional lives. And now, that they were married, he had discovered a whole different side of living…he would have regretted missing.

If they hadn't gotten together…he glanced over at her and caught her smiling at him.

"What is it Houston," she said, "Did you settle Murray down?"

He nodded and lay down next to her, wrapping his arm around her.

"I sure did…he extends his best wishes for our honeymoon…"

Her mouth curved up in mischief.

"Oh he did, did he?"

He pulled her closer to him and she looked him in the eyes.

"Houston…I'm sure he's just not used to us being a couple…let alone married."

He stroked her hair, the silky texture in his fingers…he knew her skin would feel just as nice.

"Well he's going to need to adjust C.J. because that's what we are now."

She sighed.

"Because we couldn't get the annulment after we consummated our marriage."

Underneath her smile, he sensed a pang of some emotion that he didn't quite understand, because he knew she love him…fiercely…he felt it whenever they made love…including just a few moments ago.

"Partly…but mostly because I love being married…to you…"

"But the 30 days Houston…"

He kissed her softly on the mouth and she sighed, as he did that because really, she didn't want to divorce him. She just wasn't sure that a long-term marriage was what he really wanted. Matt loved his women and he left them…he had been engaged to Elizabeth but they hadn't married when they realized they couldn't change their lives or value systems for each other. C.J. knew she and Matt didn't have that problem but…wondered how long it would take him to want to move on…maybe he just wasn't the marrying type at least right now…after all their own nuptials had resulted because of a case.

"C.J. I don't care about that…remember I'm the one who's trying to press for an extension…"

He smiled at her in that way that made her insides melt. She just had no idea how sexy he'd turn out to be and okay, she couldn't get enough of him but…she didn't want to lose him as a friend…even if she did as a husband.

"Houston…I don't think we should talk about that right now," she said, "Let's just take each day as it comes."

He swept her in his embrace so she lay on top of him.

"Oh most definitely Mrs. Houston…"

She couldn't deny she liked the sound of those words. Too much probably but the last few days…and nights had been epic.

"You want to tour the village," Matt asked.

C.J. thought about it, while nestling against him.

"Maybe…as long as we come back here afterward…"

He grinned at her.

"I wouldn't miss it."

She knew he meant it and she just didn't want to waste any minute they had together before...reality set in soon enough.

* * *

They toured the quaint little village not realizing that once again they had a tail on them. Maybe they would have noticed or at least enough to trigger their internal radar that something was off if they weren't so into each other.

They ducked into a store that sold collectables and C.J. picked out several as gifts for Chris, and the other women working in the office. She had them gift wrapped and while she waited, she noticed that Matt had taken a phone call outside. Was it Murray again or Myron this time, she wondered.

She picked up her gifts and went outside and he had just hung up.

"Who was it?"

Matt scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh just some fed bringing me up to date on that case we just worked on," he said, "He told me that one player slipped from their net and is out there wandering around."

Her brows rose.

"Who is it?"

He hesitated.

"Dimitre…"

Oh wow, C.J. thought because to call him a player was an underestimation. He was one of the ring leaders or so they thought…but now…if he slipped away from their grasp and had regrouped.

"So what are they going to do?"

Matt sighed.

"Go out and hunt him down…nothing else to do."

She nodded processing the news. She felt a sliver of apprehension go through her body. When she and Matt and nearly been forced to watch each other die, Dimitre had just laughed as he held their lives in his hands. What if he came looking for them?

Matt read the worried look on her face and understood it. He reached out to stroke her face with his fingers.

"Nothing's going to happen…Dimitre's got bigger fish to fry than just us."

She folded her arms.

"Don't lie to me to spare my feelings Houston…I remember what he said and so do you."

Matt sighed, thinking he should have known better than to give her that line but there was no way he was ever going to let anything happen to her. Dimitre wouldn't even get close to either of them but whatever happened, C.J. would be safe, he'd make sure of it.

Only C.J. hadn't been worried about her safety all that much, because she feared for him. He had to stop downplaying his own safety to protect her and if he did it this time, she would tell him to not cut her off. After all, they were a team…whether or not they were married to each other.

They continued on with their sightseeing in silence. They went to the lighthouse where there had once been crews working the search light to guide mariners to shore through the fog. C.J. didn't like lighthouses much because she had nearly died in one after being shot, not that she had many memories of it but at the trial, while testifying to put one greedy cult leader away for life, she had looked at the photograph of the one that nearly became her tomb while testifying.

This one appeared more forlorn because no one was there to man it or to even watch over the watcher of lost ships.

"These are a dying breed," Matt said.

"Well technology's much more advanced than it was back then."

They walked around the observation deck close to the lighthouse. Matt looked at it, a vision flashing through his head of carrying C.J. out of it in his arms in a rush to get her to a hospital with time running out for her. He reached for her hand and she slipped hers in his and squeezed it as they looked out towards the ocean together.

* * *

Behind them in the brushes, a man reached for his cell phone as he headed back to his waiting car.


	7. Chapter 7

They had gotten into the lighthouse and climbed up the winding staircase to the very top, where they looked around the abandoned room towards the glass windows which showcased the vast ocean.

"It's so beautiful up here," C.J. said, "Such a clear day too."

Matt held onto his wife's hand as they walked across the room to get a better look. The ocean spanned below them, shimmering in blue with whitecaps as far as the eye could see towards the horizon.

And there were boats bobbing up and down and ships, no doubt further out.

"Maybe we can rent a boat and go out sailing," he said, "Do some fishing?"

She chuckled, squeezing his hand in her own. They had often gone fishing together beginning back when they were kids, and his dad and Uncle Roy used to take them out in the Gulf of Mexico or to some lake nestled in the hills, far away from where they grew up outside of Houston.

"I'd like that…"

She looked out into the ocean marveling at the distance that it spread all across, She could see down on the rocky shore where the tide brought the waves crashing in over the jetties.

Much different than the beaches closer to L.A. where the sands spread out to the ocean which took away more than it gave, even near Matt's beach house in Malibu where he had moved after selling his ranch.

He reached over and cupped her face in his hand and then kissed her softly on the mouth, knowing how damn hard it had become to keep his hands off of her. No need to anymore now that they were married. And he had every intention of keeping it that way.

C.J. just enjoyed his style of kissing, slowly drawing her in while his hands moved across her back. They finally broke for air but he held onto her looking at her face.

"Hey, there, why don't we have a picnic on the beach?"

She smiled.

"I could live on this beach," she said, "I'm in no hurry to get back to L.A."

He stroked her cheek.

"Neither am I…I never have a honeymoon before now but I always promised myself, I'd be sure to make it memorable."

She kissed him softly on the mouth in response, and then sighed pulling him closer.

"You've done that and more…even if it's not a real marriage."

His face grew serious then.

"Well, then you don't mind about the thirty day extension then?"

She looked at him and shrugged.

"Of course not," she said, "but I want us to stay friends even when we…get divorced."

He leaned against the ancient desk folding his arms.

"About the divorce…"

She tilted her head at him.

"Houston…we agreed to it…back before the wedding."

"Yeah I know we did but like I said, I kind of like this marriage, it's really growing on me."

She rolled her eyes.

"You like the fringe benefits and that's not the same thing."

He sighed, putting her hand to his lips and kissing it.

"Most definitely like moments like this…when we can forget about the rest of the world."

"Murray's not going to let us do that for much longer," she said, "He's going to want us back to work soon enough."

"He can wait a little longer…come on; let's get back to the inn."

She nodded and they walked down the windy staircase back to the entrance. The wind started picking up, bringing in the mist straight from the ocean. They headed back to the car walking past the bush where a man remained hidden.

They got back in the car and headed back to the Inn. The man stepped outside and whipped out his cell phone.

"Hi…I've just reporting in…I've been following them all day…they're definitely staying nearby somewhere…you might want to wait a day while I find out where…yeah then you bring in reinforcements…talk to you later…"

The man hung up his cell phone and walked to where he kept his own car hidden.

* * *

C.J. and Matt sat on a blanket out on the beach, after they walked down the flight of stairs that took them to a secluded spot. The Inn had fixed them up some gourmet pizza and some wine and they had been dining on it, watching the sun setting over the ocean. A couple clouds highlighted the darkening sky, their edges visible.

"I always wanted to picnic on a beach in my honeymoon," C.J. said, "I thought it might be in Hawaii or Tahiti but this place is much better."

Matt had stretched out after finishing a couple slices of the thickly crusted pizza.

"Yeah…it's definitely special but so is the company."

He refilled her wine glass and she sipped it, while watching him. Damn he looked so sexy in his jersey with its rolled up sleeves and his faded jeans. She really felt comfortable when she lay eyes on him in a brand new way, the way his eyes explored her own and the way his mouth felt just about anywhere…she could so easily lose herself in this ruse that they had engaged in as part of an undercover operation.

But that would be too dangerous…because they had spent a lifetime building up their friendship, as closely bound as they could be without really being together. As much as she liked exploring this side of their relationship, she didn't know if she could return back to the way things had been.

Still, that seemed inevitable because Matt hadn't planned on getting married, when they did it for this assignment. In fact, he might have still been recovering from his busted engagement. But he had handled the wedding so well, she'd been convinced it had been real until her rational side caught up. Damn, he looked fine in his tux standing there at the altar while she walked down the aisle in that wedding dress. Nothing overly fancy but she had liked wearing it.

Even if it was just for show, she kept reminding herself. She did that when she stood at the end of the aisle and saw him there with his Uncle Roy, in a tux with his customary carnation. Then his smile just for her as she walked down the aisle and when they stood together at the altar during the faux ceremony, she had recited her vows as if they meant more than anything, as if she'd waited her whole life to say them.

If only to fool those in attendance not in the know, she also kept telling herself. And yeah, as she and Matt had taken that obligatory spin on the dance floor, their first dance as a married couple, she had trouble remaining grounded in reality.

She had also committed the cardinal sin…she had imagined them taking it upstairs to a suite and falling into bed with each other, how it would feel to be with him. She had to hush those fantasies up quickly because she had to remain focused on the job they set out to do.

A moment distraction could prove their undoing and she had concentrated on business until they nearly saw each other die at the hands of Dmitri and his men.

Then the first chance she had to be alone with him, she had taken that leap and now…she had screwed everything up. Not that she regretted making love with him at all…no way. But when reality hit…

"C.J. come here a moment."

She looked at him warily but with a trace of a smile.

"I don't know if I should trust you."

His lips quirked, as he considered that.

"You might be right but you'd be missing out on a lot of fun."

She folded her arms.

"Houston, we're on a beach…anyone can see us."

He looked around the deserted stretch of sand out to the ocean.

"C.J…it's private and secluded."

She licked her lips, and then nodded, moving closer to him when he wrapped his arms around her tightly and they both fell back on the blanket. She wiggled out of his embrace and lay on top of him.

"You feel…interesting…"

Matt kissed her in response, smoothing her hair back.

"I'm most definitely interested."

Her eyes danced.

"In fooling around…?"

His pursed his lips wrapping his arms around her.

"Most definitely," he said, before kissing her again.

They made out on the blanket, kissing each other and slipping their hands beneath each other's shirts to stroke bare skin. She finally sighed after he had cupped her breast with his palm.

"Houston…this feels like high school."

He sighed, loving the way her fingers felt on his own skin.

"We weren't together in high school."

She gave him a devilish smile.

"I know…but that was back when I first dated Carl…he was quite a guy, liked books a lot…but could really throw a football."

"I know…but he gave it all up to start his own business."

"Sounds like someone else I know…"

He heard pleasure at the memories of her first serious boyfriend who had returned back into her life in a huge way, sweeping her off of her feet.

"He was really special…and when he came back I was so happy," she said, "but then…"

Her voice cut off and she looked away from him for just a moment, when her face returned, he saw a trace of moisture in her eyes.

"C.J…"

She looked at him thoughtfully.

"I thought he and I…we might…I know it might seem strange to bring it up when we're…like this but it scares me sometimes to feel strongly about someone.."

He stroked her back.

"I know C.J. I've been there too you know."

She did, because he'd lost a fiancé to a renowned serial killer and had taken a long time to recover.

"I couldn't go down that road with you Houston…if anything happened to you…"

He looked straight at her, still touching her.

"Nothing's going to happen…except after 30 days, we're going to still be married."

She looked at him with reproach.

"You seem so sure of that."

"Damn sure," he said, "I know a good thing when I see it and I stick with it."

She smiled, because she couldn't disagree with him, not through the way she felt especially when he held her like he did now but damn, it just didn't make any sense. How could it work out between them if they only married to complete an assignment? She had really thrown a wrench in it by practically seducing him that other night.

"It's my fault Houston…if I hadn't come on to you like that."

He smiled, his eyes sparkling.

"I'm sure glad that you did," he said, "I don't think I had a night so spectacular before, except it's been better since."

"Really…?"

He felt the breeze blowing in from the ocean and it carried a blanket of moisture. Clouds loomed all the way to the horizon. The weather sure changed quickly in these parts.

"C.J…"

"What?"

"I think we'd better take this indoors," he said, "I think we'll be getting some rain right quick."

She looked around and nodded.

"You're right…we'd better get going."

She disentangled herself from him, very reluctantly and they gathered their things together before heading up the stairs. But he had his arm around her waist most of that walk back and when they unlocked the door into their room, they fell into each other's arms before the rain started hitting the window pane.

* * *

Later, they lay in the hot water of the tub, surrounded by lit candles. She rested against his body as he soaked the sponge and rubbed it against her smooth skin. They had cuddled for a while under the sheets before she had come up with the fine idea of trying out the tub. The water had been soothing and she had placed some lilac salts in the water which made them both relax together.

"This is really nice," he said, running the sponge over her abdomen, "I could get used to this."

"Me too…after we get done here, I had the managers drop off some of that delicious pie."

"I've got everything I want right here," he said, pulling her closer.

She sighed in his arms.

"So do I…"

* * *

Some miles away a tall man looked out the window of his office, where he had gone after eluding the tail they put on him. Dmitri had the money and the resources to stay more than one step ahead and the drive to go after those responsible for trying to bring down him and his empire.

He finished his steak dinner and brandy and picked up a photo of his targets, the bride and groom on their wedding day, happy and looking at each other with deep affection. He had tried to kill them once but had failed…and now that he had another chance, he would finally succeed


	8. Chapter 8

She woke up next to him, her hair messed up and her blood cooler than it had been the night before when they had hit the sheets. Their bodies quickly intertwining as they had kissed, their towels falling off of their bodies.

Holding onto him while they had been together, she watched the emotions on his face shift as they moved together, finding their own rhythm. She had closed her eyes when the pleasure had become almost too much, and when she had been about to cry out…his mouth had closed over hers again. Her eyes had opened, just inches away from his own and her heartbeat had quickened.

She memorized every detail of how his body felt against hers, how his face looked in between their fervent kisses, wanting to remember their marriage for the rest of her life. As the sunlight streamed through the window hours later, and she heard the birds singing in the trees outside, she smiled down at her husband who had begun to stir, underneath the covers.

"Good morning…"

He yawned and reached up to grab hold of her for a morning kiss. She joined him eagerly and when they broke, she stroked his face storing away that memory too. He gazed at her thoughtfully as they lay next to each other.

"I'm going to put in for an extension…"

She wrapped the sheet around her, shooting him a look.

"Houston, we agreed to 30 days together."

He sighed.

"As a start…but I'm negotiating for more time added."

She smiled as he started caressing her face.

"Houston…We haven't even gone the 30 days yet," she said, "Why don't we wait and see?"

Matt heard the hesitation in her voice; he knew that she still wasn't sure what she had gotten herself into with this marriage or with him. But he had no intentions of divorcing her, he just had to do some convincing to sway her that they were meant to be together. Even If it had taken them nearly forever to get there.

"Okay but I've already staked my claim and when the 30 days is up, I'm not going to change my mind."

She smiled to herself, thinking that she might like that but for now they had to take one day at a time together, enjoying themselves now but soon enough, they'd be heading back to their lives back in L.A.

"We'd better go check if anyone called…"

He watched her leave the bed, grabbing her robe and wrapping it around her as she went to check the phone. She checked it, and sighed.

"Murray called back…and then someone from the FBI…I think it's Jake."

Matt watched the worry lines on her face and knew that the agent might be calling to update them on the case they had just finished. Maybe something about Dmitri wandering around out there, maybe trying to hunt them down

"Which one should we handle first?"'

Matt thought about that, and okay, Murray if he could get him on and off the phone in ten minutes….he thought getting up to rummage for his own phone after slipping on a robe.

Murray naturally had already gone on a tear that morning at Houston Enterprises back in L.A.

"Big guy, I think I found the answer."

"The answer to what Murray, I think I'm a step or two behind you."

His corporate president slowed down, but he still gasped for breath, trying to remain calm.

"To boost the shares up another couple of points," Murray said, "So we can look strong going into the next quarterly reports."

"Okay, well Murray there's nothing to get twisted in a knot about, we'll get to that when we get back."

"You and C.J…"

"Why yes…we'll be back in a few days after we finish…a few things here."

"Okay but why you two are gallivanting around the Bay Area, we've got a crisis here with the stockholders."

Matt sighed, listening to Murray continue on barely drawing a breath. He wasn't quite as relentless and quick in his speech patterns as his brother Myron who worked back in Houston but he was a close second.

"Murray we're not gallivanting…not exactly, we're on a belated honeymoon…like I told you."

Silence met him.

"Oh yeah…," Murray said when he recovered, "C.J. and you…I can't believe it…I mean I voted in the office pool against it…I'm ashamed to say."

"Murray it's okay, now C.J. and I have to get going," he said, "We're going on a nice long drive."

"Uh that sounds great boss," Murray said, "I'll handle things until you get back and everything will be fine."

"That's good…talk to you later."

Matt clicked off his phone and added silently, quite a bit later because his mind was on the woman in front of him.

"I guess I'll call Jake…you go and call in for some breakfast okay…plenty of food."

C.J. arched a brow.

"How much are you planning on eating?"

He smiled.

"Plenty so I can go another couple of rounds with you at least."

She bit her lip, suppressing a smile.

"You really are something…not that I'm complaining."

He entered in the phone number for Jake and waited for the agent to pick up.

"Hi, Matt nice to hear back from you," he said.

Matt walked around with his phone.

"We took some time off to unwind from that case."

"I heard you two are still married…"

"You heard right," Matt said, "So what's going on back there?"

Jake sighed and Matt knew it wasn't great news.

"Dmitri's loose, you know that don't you?"

"Yeah I do…and no one can seem to find him," Matt said, sitting down in a chair.

Jake paused.

"It's not that bad….We'll catch up with him soon."

Matt sighed, looking over at C.J.

"How soon…?"

"We're working on it Matt," Jake said, "We want to catch up with him as badly as you do."

Matt didn't know about that, he just knew that he didn't want to have to worry about C.J.'s safety. After what they had both been through with the master criminal…he just wanted them to be able to put the experience behind them so they could move on with their lives.

Their new lives as husband and wife as far as he was concerned. C.J. must have seen the frown on his face because she walked over to him.

"What's going on…I ordered some omelets and Canadian bacon."

He smiled at her.

"I've got Jake on the phone…he's updating me on Dmitri."

"Does he know where he is," C.J. asked.

Matt shook his head.

"Hey Matt…I'm sorry I just had my supervisor drop in and he's trying to get more information on where Dmitri might be holed up and who might be helping him."

Matt sighed.

"He's got an extensive network, we both know that," he said, "Maybe we shouldn't go back to L.A."

"If that's what you think is for the best but you're not any safer up there."

"Maybe she and I'll drop out of sight for a while."

"Matt, then you won't even have the feds helping you…and you'll be left wide open."

Matt rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not putting her at risk and I can make sure she's safe."

"Well it's up to you Matt, but if you return to L.A. we'll be able to cover you better there."

Matt looked over at C.J. who had her arms folded, her eyebrows furrowed and was so waiting for him to get off the phone he could tell.

"I'll tell you what we decide by tomorrow okay," he said, "Thanks for the update."

"It's not going to help you if you run off and do something foolish Matt."

"I know what I'm doing and I've got a family to protect," Matt said, "Uncle Roy and Will know what to do in situations like this and I'm going to take care of my wife."

Matt clicked off his phone and looked over at her.

"Houston…what's this about protecting me," she said, "We're partners in this relationship."

"Marriage…"

She nodded.

"Okay marriage and we make decisions together," she said, "I don't need my husband or anyone else treating me like I needed to be handled carefully or protected."

Matt sighed, reading that determined look on her face and knowing she didn't leave much room for argument.

"I'm not doing that C.J. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing's going to happen Houston, except we're going to eat some breakfast before we take our drive and figure everything out."

He smiled at her, getting up to get ready.

"Okay well, let's get some breakfast and get ready."

* * *

A couple of hours later, they headed on the highway to do some driving along the scenic coastline. They passed green pastures and beachfronts as they twisted and turned through some emerald cliffs and hillsides.

"It's so beautiful today isn't it?"

"Sure is…haven't been up here in a long time."

She looked out the side window at some signs to other places.

"Someday we should head to Sonoma or Napa up in wine country and check out some vineyards."

"Yeah…I might think about buying one…it's supposed to be a good investment."

She chuckled.

"Not to mention all that great wine," she said, "That might be fun."

They drove along in companionable silence and stole looks at one another. He loved watching her beautiful hair blow in the breeze, her face filled with happiness and she couldn't get enough of him. It scared her to think this but she really cherished the time they spent together exploring this new dimension of their relationship…in the midst of a manhunt going on for Dmitri who could be anywhere including close to them, in hiding.

She had hoped to see the last of him at least on the outside. Now testifying against him at trial when he had been housed in a locked up facility without bail, that might be easier than imaging him out there plotting revenge.

A very dangerous man who had been terrifying, right up to the point he planned to kill both of them. She knew that she would be looking over her shoulder for him but she didn't want Matt to know that and worry more than he appeared to be doing already.

"C.J. we're going to get through this…"

He didn't need to finish for her to understand that he was referencing to Dmitri. She just nodded with some hesitation.

"I know Houston but I'm still worried…about you doing something to get hurt or killed and not letting the feds handle him."

"I don't want to take any chances of him coming after you."

She sighed.

"Houston, don't you think I'm worried he's going to do something to you?"

He looked over at her as he turned off the main highway to a parking area with a breathtaking view of the rocky coast.

"It's okay…I'm going to let the feds handle him unless he comes our way and then I'm going to do what it takes to keep you safe."

She threw up her hands.

"Houston, that's your problem right there…you think of me as some damsel in distress and I'm not. I've saved your ass a time or two."

He had to smile at that.

"Yes you have…but it's my fault we took the case in the first place…to help a friend."

She shook her head.

"No Houston…you're not going to blame yourself…I agreed and we got married over it to get the job done…and we're still here and still married."

He reached over to stroke her arm, as they pulled up to the edge of the ridge and he parked the car, before she sidled next to him.

"Yes we are…and yes we're partners in everything including what's going on with Dmitri."

She rubbed her forehead.

"I need to know that you're serious about that…because if we have to make any decisions about what to do next…we need to make them together."

He nodded and reached over to pull her in for the kiss, thinking that yeah, the view outside looked obviously impressive but not so much as what was in front of him inside the car.

The man had pulled into a gas station and had taken the call on his cell phone from his boss.

"They're still in the Bay Area though they're out driving…when do we move into position?"

"Not until I give you my word," Dmitri said, "I still think we should wait until they get to L.A. but my partners are getting nervous."

"Well then we could act now…"

"No…wait until you get my final word, I want to be there when you catch them."

"Whatever you say boss…"

Dmitri hung up the phone and reached for the photo of the married couple and squeezed it tightly in his hand.


	9. Chapter 9

C.J. sat back as Matt drove along the winding road of the Pacific Coast Highway, the smooth glass of an ocean on one side and fields of grain blowing on the other, green tipped in gold. The wine valley would be only one turnoff away that would take them down a double lane road past the different farms and vineyards. They had stopped by a roadside stand and picked up some peaches and plums to add to their lunch.

The couple that owned the farm had taken them on a tour of their orchards where they grew trees the natural way, as they did production of their fruit. C.J. grabbed a peach out of the bag and took a bite out of its succulent sweetness.

"These are the best I've tasted…," she said, "I wonder if they'd make good preserves."

Matt looked over at his wife, not knowing she was into that kind of thing in the kitchen. But then he felt there was quite a bit about her he hadn't known like how ticklish she proved to be in the small of her back.

"You plan on taking that up as a hobby?"

She shrugged, biting into her peach.

"Maybe…I told you what I wanted to do Houston," she said, "I want to own my own ranch, not a huge one just enough for some horses and goats and a garden of course."

"Well we were going to go look at some land when we returned to L.A. weren't we?"

She furrowed her brow a tiny bit at him.

"I didn't know if you're really serious about doing that," she said, "I mean after the 30 days."

He saw the vineyard up ahead, the sign to it in front of another windy, narrower road that looked quite bumpy.

"I sure am…find ourselves a nice house, plenty of room and plenty of wide open space."

She looked back out the window, the scenery moving past her more slowly than it had on the highway. Taller, thicker trees lined it and brush all the way to where they'd park their car.

When they did that, they got out and walked up to where a couple stood there smiling at them.

"Hi…welcome to Grapes of Heaven," the woman her face deeply lined said, "I'll show you around."

C.J. looked at Matt and he reached out his hand to her and she took it in one of her own as they followed the woman.

"Houston…what are you doing…?"

He paused from kissing her neck, where he had her leaning against a heavy shelf of wines, all lined up side by side. They were inside the wine cellar looking around after the woman had left them there to respond to a customer up top. The room was dimly lit, and the walls looked pretty ancient.

"I'm enjoying our time alone…"

"We're supposed to be looking at wines."

He arched a brow breaking from some serious lip action on her skin…it felt so good but she really had to stop before she lost control and they well…got too frisky in someone else's wine cellar.

His kisses, well they didn't help matters much because he was definitely a pro there she had learned since they got married. He returned to her mouth and she felt shivers of delight spark through her and she wrapped her arms around to pull him closer. His strong body felt wonderful against hers and she returned his kiss…tossing caution out the window.

Until they felt the shelf shift beneath their weight….so they stopped and looked at each other.

"Houston…maybe we'd better be careful," she said, "The last thing we'd want is to send all this great vintage crashing down."

He sighed.

"True…why don't we buy a bottle and take it with us for lunch?"

She nodded and adjusted her clothing before they started actually checking out the rows of wine bottles. They debated a couple of them before deciding on the one they wanted. Walking up the wooden stairs, they stepped out of the cellar and into the outdoor courtyard of the vineyard.

The birds alighting on the trees sung their melodies and the leaves sprinkled the area near a small fountain. C.J. thought it was so beautiful, just perfect. She looked over at the man she loved and decided it couldn't get any better than that.

* * *

Dmitri sat on the seat inside the cabin of his Lear Jet on his way to San Francisco. He's had to fly away on business but now he was ready to head there to deal with business, to go after the two people who had most messed up his business and had jeopardized his freedom.

Soon enough they would know that they should have never, ever crossed him and his partners, and then they would know death, slowly at his hands. No chance to escape it, or to gain another lease on life.

He had orchestrated the operation beginning with the surveillance team he had sent out to where he suspected they'd be hanging out. He hadn't known they hadn't decided to fly to Reno after all to get their sham of a marriage annulled. If they had, he would have been there waiting for them but for some reason they had changed their plans.

Not that it would do them any good, because they might delay the inevitable but they couldn't stop it.

* * *

C.J. lay across Matt's chest in the midst of grassy meadow overseeing the ocean where they looked out and made out the sailboats. They at their lunch with a couple glasses of wine, spread out on a blanket. Afterward, they lay back on the blanket looking at the sparkling blue sky with occasional puffs of white traveling across it.

"That's pretty good wine…"

He looked over at her.

"Yeah…"

She sighed.

"This is the best honeymoon ever…"

He looked at her suddenly, his brows rose.

"Just how many honeymoons have you been on Ms Houston?"

She smiled back.

"Only one I can remember…but I've had a great time Houston."

He reached for her hand again and she squeezed it, bringing it with her own to her waist.

"Me too…and well after we get back to L.A. and get settled a little bit, I'd like to go on another one."

She chuckled.

"Sounds great but how are we going to get our work done," she said, "I'm sure we have cases backed up."

"Don't you worry about that," Matt said, "Uncle Roy is holding the fort down for us, no need to rush back."

She sighed.

"I wish I could stay here forever," she said, "But we've got our lives back there and we've got to figure them out."

"I tell you what, we can call the realtor tomorrow to start looking at a spread for us," he said, "There's some land that's still available not far from my old ranch."

She thought about it and nodded.

"That'll be nice…then maybe when we get back, the agent will have some parcels for us to check out."

"Works for me," he said, "That'll be a date."

She wondered why she was even having this conversation with him that she was even thinking about buying a ranch with him when they had only committed to a 30 day extension on their marriage. Not enough time to be thinking about making future plans about living together, building a home outside the city and…creating a family. But she could almost see the future now…the one they could share and part of her wanted to reach out and grab it.

But what about him, she had really thought that he and Elizabeth would get married and they would have made it work but that engagement had gone bust. No, he had married her instead for an undercover assignment but something had happened to make both of them reluctant to go back to the way things had been between them.

She knew she didn't want to go back and he seemed to feel strongly about that as well, somehow they'd have to find out how to make it work.

He sighed next to her and she wondered if he felt some of the fears that she did…the strongest being the fear of losing him. She'd come too close before too many times, the time he died for five minutes on the operating table…when he'd gone missing for 30 days…and more recently when Dmitri had said that the two of them would watch each other die. She had thought her heart would stop at those words and a wheal of fear made her tremble just then.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

She just smiled at him to brush it off.

"Oh nothing…I just think that I'd love to see more days like this one."

That pleased him, and he squeezed her hand in response.

"So would I…and nights like the last one…"

She felt the rush of warmth flush her skin at that and she knew in her heart how badly she wanted things to work between them and that she'd have to trust in him that he wanted that too.


	10. Chapter 10

C.J. woke up with a start having been dreaming not long after falling asleep after returning from their road trip. They had gotten back late and had settled into bed, exhausted, after getting undressed. He had wrapped his arms around her as they lay beneath the covers but she had drifted off soon enough.

But images that had flashed inside of her closed lids had shaken her awake. Dmitri's face had been in front of her in all its evil as he taunted her over and over that she would never see Matt again. Only in the last few seconds of her life after he killed her, but somehow they had overcome the master criminal…but now he had been running around loose. She couldn't rest until he was put behind bars permanently until the time to cart him out of his cell in a box.

She wondered if he were trying to find them and plot against them so twisted plan of revenge. He had threatened both of them when he had been led off in custody after their operation had resulted in quite a few arrests and seizures. The sweat beaded on her brow as she tried not to think about it. She had been terrified when she had thought she was going to be killed but she had held herself together just as Matt had, she needed to be strong for him so they could figure a way to turn the tables on Dmitri which the ultimately did do.

Matt stirred against her and she looked over at him, sleeping peacefully when in her dreams…she closed her eyes…he had been ripped away from her by the man who had nearly separated them from each other through death. But it was at that moment when she had realized how much she loved him…only she couldn't say it even when she thought only seconds remained for the two of them to be together…because if she did that would be like admitting defeat.

No, she would wait to tell him when they got out of danger and later on, she hadn't just told him, she had shown him, when she decided to spend the night with him in the hotel, in the same bed, wrapped up in each other…at last.

Because it had been like forever, years and years of being best friends and when they finally crossed the line to become lovers, it had been exquisite as she knew it would be between them. She sighed looking out into the darkness, the furniture in the room shadows. With him, she felt that everything in life had come together in a way that made sense and that she felt that she should have always known they could share everything.

"Hey, you still up?"

His voice sounded gravely with sleep and she felt his hands grab her to pull her closer to him. She leaned against him, allowing herself to curve within his embrace. She smelled the remnants of his aftershave and closed her eyes.

"Just woke up for a moment."

"What time is it…?"

She glanced over at the clock's luminescent face.

"Four A.M…"

The warmth of his body made her feel secure and she relaxed, feeling sleepy again.

"Okay, we've got some time left before we need to get up."

"Yeah…I guess we're leaving tomorrow to head back home?"

He kissed her.

"Yeah…but there's no rush."

She smiled at the tone of his voice and she knew that meant they'd be meandering back to L.A. probably driving Murray in the process but she did want to spend more time with her husband.

"Okay but can we make a couple of stops on the way," she said, "just to say we've been there?"

"Yeah…I can think of a few places," he said, "if you're up to it."

"I sure am, I've really enjoyed these past few days," she admitted, "I've never had so much fun."

That made him happy and he couldn't agree more with her.

"So you're rethinking this 30 days deadline?"

She yawned and he knew she was close to falling asleep again.

"Maybe…We'll see…."

He felt her relax against him and he knew she had drifted off. She felt so nice next to him, molding against him perfectly, even in sleep. She had left the question unanswered but he knew that it wasn't only sleepiness that had made her waver on it, she really had been thinking about it. He on the other hand didn't want the marriage to end, having realized that she was the woman he wanted to spend his life with, through whatever they faced.

But he thought about Dmitri being out there somewhere looking for them. They had been safe enough the past few days with no sign of him or anyone else as far as he could tell. Not that the man wasn't crafty but maybe they'd get lucky and he'd focus on other things besides coming after them hell bent on revenge. But he couldn't take any chances on that. He had to keep his guard up at all times…in case Dmitri did come calling.

* * *

The morning broke and she got up before he did, heading to the shower after she pulled her robe on. The warmth of the water felt good on her skin and the steam surrounded her. She thought about leaving and heading back to L.A. with Matt as her husband and wondered what her friends would say about it. Sure, they had gone to their wedding but she didn't know if anyone thought it was for real. In fact, the closest friends knew the truth and she wondered what they would think when they returned still married…she might get a few told you so admonitions from people like Chris who she'd known and worked with for some years. But they'd be happy for the two of them and would celebrate it.

Murray had been a little bit freaked about their relationship. But he'd get used to it and probably find a way it would enhance their business portfolio's performance at the market. They'd let him handle that while they settled back in to handling their caseloads while working with a real estate agent to find some land…but then why was she thinking about that?

After all, that would be after the 30 day mark.

She just shut the water off and grabbed a towel wiping herself dry, and then working on her hair. The door opened and Matt came inside the bathroom in his robe but looking as gorgeous as usual.

"I'm finished," she said, "I'll go call for some breakfast…so we can take it on the road."

He reached down and kissed her softly on the mouth, savoring that moment before looking at her.

"That sounds like a plan…"

She smiled and left him and he watched her go thinking that maybe they didn't have to leave just yet.

They ate breakfast in bed wrapped up in their comforter because they hadn't been able to just get ready to leave. She had kissed him after he had done that crazy eyebrow waggling thing that made her weak in the knees and one thing, had led to another…and soon enough they were back in bed.

"We can always leave this afternoon," he said, finishing his omelet.

"Yeah…I guess so," she said, "You were just impossible to resist…looking like that."

He finished his food and pulled her closer to him again so that they lay back together, just looking at the ceiling.

"Tell you what…we can drive for a while just before lunch time and stop at a nice restaurant just below San Francisco and then maybe hit Morro Bay for a night or two."

That sounded excellent to her because she loved the area by the ocean, and the beautiful scenery surrounding the coastal village.

"Sounds great…I know a cottage rental place," she said, "The one I used to escape to, when things got hectic and you were…busy."

He remembered that, one time she'd just taken off in her convertible and he'd watched her whizz out of the garage and had worried a bit until she called him from the cottage. Missing him but needing some time to herself, she spent weekends there and then returned to L.A. more relaxed and well rested than when she had left.

She sipped her champagne that had come with the meal and thought it didn't get better than this, sweeter than the time they spent together. Coordinating their schedules when they returned home so they could have quality time together…now she was definitely sounding like part of a married couple…but then decided she could handle that.

"I'm almost packed up," he said, getting up reluctantly, "I'll make reservations at the restaurant for lunch."

She nodded, watching him leave her for the phone. Then got up and swore this time she was really going to get dressed in some casual jeans and a belt along with a loose sweater that would complement it.

Matt saw that he had a message from Roy and called him up.

"Hi there, what's going on?"

"Not much," Roy said, "Just holding down the fort until the two of you get back."

"We've been…busy…but we're both having a great time and we'll be back in a few days…"

Roy chuckled.

"I remember when Flo and I drove the coast, took us weeks," he said, "Her parents almost sent out a search party. No need to hurry back."

"Anything about Dmitri," Matt asked.

"No…they don't know what he's got planned but just be careful and keep an eye out."

Matt sighed, story of his life it seemed like much of the time. One of the reasons things hadn't worked out with Elizabeth…or the other women. But C.J. took this part of his life in stride because it was hers too.

"We'll do that," Matt said, "We'll be in Morro Bay later this afternoon."

He clicked off his phone and saw C.J walk towards him with her bag and they did one last look around before heading to check out. After saying goodbye to the manager, they walked out to the car, not noticing a sedan parked a short distance away where a man sat inside watching them walking arms wrapped around each other to the car to head on back to L.A.

As their car pulled out to go back to the coastline highway, he fell some distance behind them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Later….**

The ambulance roared to the scene, and the paramedics parked behind the fire truck and in front of several county sheriff cars before getting out to assist in their rescue efforts.

"How far down do you think it is to reach it," one of them asked.

A firefighter looked up from his conversation with a colleague.

"About 100 feet…it tumbled a couple times…we don't know if anyone survived."

The paramedic nodded gravely.

"That's why they call this the Devil's Curve," he said, "So many unsuspecting motorists take it too fast and wipe out."

"There are signs put up to give them plenty of warning," a police officer said.

The paramedic shrugged.

"Who's paying attention to them," he said, "This spot still racks up a couple of fatalities a year."

Another firefighter approached.

"I'm ready to go down…I think I'm going to need a medic to assess the scene," he said, "Which means you Roger because you've got the mountain rescue background."

Roger nodded.

"All those years spent working in high places, some of it rubbed off," he said, "We'd better get going."

The firefighter nodded and they both went to fetch more equipment to help them rappel down the ridge, slowly and surely until they reached the crumpled metal that had once been a car.

They walked past the black skid marks that went straight off the side of the monstrous cliff.

* * *

She had opened her eyes slowly, but only saw bright light, almost blinding and she didn't know where she had landed. They had been driving down the highway and then one second…then the next, what had happened to them? Her mind tried to work its way backward but a wave of dizziness hit her. She felt a warm liquid dripping down her face and knew it to be blood.

How many times had the car rolled over once it had gone over? She remembered the time she had been driving and someone had run her off the road, two hit men hired as part of some crazed plot to stop her from attending some wedding involving her former sorority head mother. She had worn her seatbelts now as she had back then and she knew that had saved her life…but she hadn't been alone in the car this time.

She tried to move her head to look for him but sharp pain hit her quickly.

"Houston…"

That's what she had tried to say, but no sound passed through her lips.

Where was he, was he still back in the car? She had been strapped inside it during most of the tumbling until the very end when somehow she wound up outside of it, near a bush, one of many that hugged the steep rock of the ridge. Her head hurt, her body ached and she didn't feel like moving much but she had to find him. She didn't hear any noises or anyone calling her.

Maybe she should find a way to get help, no she should stay with the car, they'd been alone on the highway before the accident.

But wait a minute, they hadn't been all alone. An image popped in her head. Had there been someone else driving on the road?

Then she'd heard some voices, and small pebbles began to sting her face as she lifted her head to look at the source of the noise. Sounded like a couple of men and they were getting closer. Were they coming to rescue them? But then some instinct gnawed at her and she just lay there quietly and listened.

"You pushed them too hard," he said, "Boss wanted them captured alive."

"Accidents happen, let's just make sure we get paid for at least taking them out of circulation," another voice said, "We'd better just make sure they're dead."

She heard sliding footsteps nearby as if they were struggling to keep their feet planted on a slope.

"He's got to be dead," one man said, "No sign of life there."

Shock seized C.J.'s heart in a tight grip, oh god, he couldn't be right about Matt could he?

"One down…what about the woman?"

Now, they were looking for her, to finish her off. At first, she had been paralyzed by what they had just said about Matt but…no she had to get away from them. She had to make it through this so that people would know it wasn't an accident. If she couldn't save Matt…her throat tightened, she had to save herself…because she just felt something stirring inside telling her she had to do it.

So she crawled, slithered really like a snake, through the dirt. Trying to raise herself just high enough the ground that she wouldn't leave a trail. Their voices got louder, they were coming around the side of the car where they'd see her.

Adrenalin washed away the pain that she might have felt from moving her bruised and battered body so quickly.

She felt herself slip and roll down a few feet, but fortunately she fell underneath a lot of brush and nearby…she heard the sound of rushing water. A flowing body of water meant a way out of here to civilization she knew. She just had to follow it…as soon as the men were gone.

C.J. lay under the brush as quiet as could be, hearing the sound of the men walking around where she hid.

* * *

After they had left, she had resumed crawling, wanting so badly to stop to rest but she knew she had to keep moving. She pulled herself through the muddy banks that ran parallel to the river, focusing on moving one foot's length at a time. The men must have given up and gone back where they came from but she had to be careful, in case they had simply gone ahead of her and she'd look up after inching forward one painful foot and see them laughing at her.

Her heart ached when she thought of him but she didn't have time to think about the unimaginable. She had to keep moving, and so she did until she decided to take her chances and let the river carry her downstream so she slithered in pulling with her arms until the cold water surrounded her.

* * *

Roger looked inside the car at the man lying unconscious behind the steering wheel upside down. He had a deep bruise on his forehead but as Roger crept down to the window of the overturned hulk of metal, he reached to check his pulse.

He turned his head and shouted up.

"It's weak but it's there," he said, "He's alive but he's been down here for maybe an hour and needs to be removed…we're going to need those jaws and to get a stretcher down here."

The other fireman left to radio back up to the top where the crews waited. Roger crawled and saw that if they widened the opening by the window, they might be able to get him out once he'd been evaluated for spinal injuries. Suddenly he heard a groaning noise and looked at Matt.

"C….J…."

Roger frowned not knowing what the man had been saying but he needed to remain quiet until they got him out. Any move might worsen any injuries that he might have suffered.

"I'm Roger, I'm an EMT and I'm going to with some help get you on out of here but you have to lie still for me okay?"

"I need…."

"You're going to be fine, now I need to ask you some questions," he said, "Can you feel your legs…don't move your head just try to tell me."

"Yea…they hurt…stuck."

Roger nodded.

"Probably from the damaged front end," he said, "We've got tools to handle that but it's going to take a while."

"Where's…"

"You need to lie still," he said, and saw that Matt had gone quiet again.

He'd probably be slipping in and out of unconsciousness, not that they could do much about it now. Even the ability to assess his injuries was limited. He figured Matt had a head injury though how severe he couldn't even guess without further testing in the hospital. Fortunately, they had a good sized medical facility in the nearest town. Mostly it was because they housed a medical school nearby and many had been trained at the small hospital including in trauma medicine.

Matt's face had gone pale which just served to push him to get on the radio and tell the other rescuers to hurry up and get down there. Maybe internal bleeding somewhere inside him, wouldn't be surprising. But they could get him all fixed up when they got him to the proper doctors.

* * *

Dmitri put the phone down livid with rage at his own hired men. They had been given the assignment to go ambush the couple to grab and deliver them to him. But instead the fools he had hired who were supposed to be the best had somehow wound up forcing the car off the road.

Now he had been told Matt had been killed in the accident, which meant he had died much too quickly and there had been no trace of C.J. She must have either been thrown out of the car or gotten out on her own. He hadn't wanted her to enjoy a quick death either, and there was always the chance that she might have survived the crash. He had told the men that until they found out for sure that both were dead that they wouldn't be receiving any payment at all.

After all, what did you have to do to find any good help around here? He had wanted them both dead eventually but had wanted to drag it out until they were both begging him to kill them to end their misery.

This way was no fun at all and being denied of the pleasure of doing it his way had angered him.

* * *

C.J. felt the water take her down through some twists and turns until she wound up cast aside in a shallow pool of warmer water. She lifted herself up, and felt her hands sink in the mud as they tried to support her.

"Oh my, what happened to you," a woman said, "You look like you've been through the gauntlet."

You could say that, C.J. thought but speaking still hurt too much for different reasons. But she looked up to see who had addressed her and saw a woman wearing worn jeans and a knit top, centered by a crucifix hanging around her neck. A scarf wrapped around her long hair.

C.J.'s eyes narrowed, in question and fortunately the woman read her quite well.

"I'm Sr. Natalie and I just came down here to check some fishing lines," she said, "but I think you need my help more…"

C.J. tried to get her body to lift itself on her feet and the woman grabbed her arm to help her up. Her body ached and her feet proved unsteady but she finally stood up. Her legs shook and a wave of dizziness hit her.

The woman stroked her face, to clean off some leaves that had stuck to it.

"Aren't you a sight," she said, "Why don't I take you back to the convent and get you cleaned up?"

_Convent, _C.J. thought but looking into the woman's no nonsense if friendly face, she kept her thoughts to herself.

And pushed away any thoughts about Matt, except her refusal to believe that she had lost him…


	12. Chapter 12

Matt opened his eyes finally but they didn't understand what they saw. Activity milled all around where he lay on the stretchers as assorted doctors and nurses gathered around to work on him. He had been rolled off of a helicopter that had flown out to pluck him off of some highway he'd been told, part of the bits and pieces of speech he had picked up during the flight.

He hadn't been conscious the entire time.

His mind had been so fuzzy that just trying to sort out the activity around him, the tense faces and the equipment, IV bottles dangling and some sort of blinking monitor. He had tried to move but couldn't, he felt like he was strapped down on some flat surface.

Now he recognized an ER when he saw one, having traveled through too many of them during his lifetime, but not what was happening.

He tried to think backwards inside his aching head to what had just happened but met resistance that appeared as opaque as a mist that had hardened to a wall around him. One he couldn't get past as much as he tried to climb it. He knew his memories lay on the other side, out of reach.

But he knew a few things like his name, where he lived and his business life. He tried to follow all the motion around him but it made him so dizzy. And in the midst of it, the face of a beautiful woman haloed by dark hair and who dazzled with her smile.

He knew her. It was his best friend since childhood and his business partner, C.J.

Where was she now, and had she known about his accident? What had he been doing when it happened? He heard snippets about driving his car off the road, but why would he do that? He had done his share of pedal to the metal type driving but he'd never been reckless.

"C.J…"

The nurse heard him whisper barely and bent closer to him.

"It's going to be all right…Mr. Houston," she said, "You've been in a pretty serious accident but you're going to be fine."

She smiled too brightly at him and he felt a sharp jab into his arm.

"What's that?"

She came into focus again, still with that smile he didn't quite trust.

"It's something to help you rest," she said, "You're going to be examined by some doctors and it might be quite uncomfortable and we won't know until we do tests but you might need surgery."

"What about…"

She furrowed her brow at him.

"About what," she said, "You need to just relax and let the sedative work."

He tried to raise his head.

"But C.J…"

"Who, who's that?"

He tried to remember exactly, though he imaged her exactly as he saw her inside his mind.

"She was…where is she?"

The nurse shook her head.

"There's no one like that here," she said, "Do you want someone to call her? Is she your wife?"

He frowned, shaking his head slowly. Their relationship hadn't been quite like that, more like the tightest friendship he'd ever had with anyone. But they'd never been anything different. In fact, hadn't he just been engaged? Another woman wearing a mop of curly red hair appeared in his mind. He knew who she was and that they'd been engaged to be married. But what had happened, had they gone through with it?

His mind struggled to remember but the details floated away from him before he could grab hold to make some sense.

"Mr. Houston, you're going to have to relax and let the doctors take care of you."

But he didn't want them to do that, didn't want to surrender to the blackness until he knew what was going on. What had just happened, he couldn't remember. But before he could refocus his energies on trying again, his world faded into grey.

* * *

C.J. lay back on the bed, inside what felt like a tiny room, and saw some fading sunlight hitting a wall from somewhere, a window perhaps? Her body ached, from the accident and all of her exertion and her muscles were cramped. Dryness had parched her throat until one of the nuns had helped her drink a glass of water poured from a pitcher on a table next to her bed.

"We've called for Sr. Angelina, she was a doctor in Africa before she came here," the nun named Sr. Natalie told her, "You might have some serious injuries."

C.J.'s body felt as if it had been through a meat grinder but she didn't sense that she had injured herself badly. The seatbelt had probably saved her from that but she didn't feel much like moving and so she just lay still.

The part of her that felt torn up couldn't be fixed by any doctor or medicine. Her heart had broken inside when she heard what those men had said about Matt being dead inside the car. Just minutes after she had been laughing at something he had told her as they had been driving along the road until…she still didn't know what had happened after that.

But the men who had had to be wrong about that, the ones who had shown up by the car to finish them off, meaning that the car hadn't crashed by accident. And they had been looking for her too; maybe they still were out there searching. They had to have been working for Dmitri.

Another nun, taller in stature walked in and introduced herself as Sr. Angelina. Her face bore a gentle smile and she looked to be in her early forties, dressed in similar attire as Sr. Natalie with a scarf around her head.

"I'm here to check you out," she said, "Now if I find anything I can't treat, I'll have to take you to the medical center in town."

C.J. just lay there, closing while Sr. Angelina palpitated her body in different places, moving limbs gently and testing them for pain. Of course nearly everything hurt but C.J. figured that was better than feeling nothing at all. The nun fired off questions in a professional manner and C.J. answered them. Finally Sr. Angelina nodded meaning that she had finished her exam.

"Your body's bruised pretty badly," she said, "Your ribs, and a shoulder. You might have sprained a wrist but you don't seem to have any signs of head injury or fractures."

C.J. had figured as much but she just lay there not really responding, because if she had escaped without serious injury, why had Matt been killed?

"No internal injuries, your arms must have shielded most of your thorax and abdominal areas from even bruising, you're very lucky."

Strangely C.J. didn't feel that way, not when the man she had loved had been brutally taken from her in seconds.

"I…I was in a car…"

Angelina leaned forward.

"I could guess that," she said, "and that it crashed badly. You must have swam quite a way before Sr. Natalie found you."

The other nun looked over at Angelina.

"Was there any report on the radio about any accidents?"

Angelina shook her head.

"Not that I've heard," she said, "At any rate, this woman needs rest for several days and good food so she's going to have to stay here."

Natalie blinked her eyes at the other nun.

"But she's not one of us."

Angelina didn't budge.

"It doesn't matter, she's one of the Lord's lambs and she needs our care."

C.J. listened to them go back and forth about her and tried to speak up.

"I'm…my name is C.J…"

They both looked at her.

"Okay that's helpful," Angelina said, "Well C.J., Sr. Natalie can help you get cleaned up and into some fresh clothes."

Natalie nodded and left the room. Angelina smiled at C.J. and she looked to be a kind woman who'd seen both the best and worst of what life offered up.

"You'll feel better after you're cleaned up and get some food into you," she said, "Then you're going to need to get some sleep."

C.J. felt exhausted but still wired from what she had been through the past day. She looked up at Angelina.

"My husband died…in the accident."

Angelina's brows knit into a frown.

"You man you weren't alone?"

C.J. shook her head though it pained her.

"Oh god, we were just driving and then…something hit us hard…then when we crashed these men came looking for us…"

"It's okay…we'll discuss that later, the Lord can heal all wounds if you allow Him the chance," she said.

Natalie returned to tell C.J. that her bath was ready down the hallway. The two women helped her out of her bed, and she walked in between them on unsteady legs. She forced herself to walk each step but wanting nothing more than to let herself fall on the floor and just curl into a ball, because she had lost him.

But she knew that Matt wouldn't want her to give up, he would want her to fight for her own survival. She had saved her own life and she had gotten away from the men who had killed him.

Men who might still be out hunting for her and she had to hide where they couldn't find her. And she had to get herself better so that she could find them and make them pay for what they'd done to the man she loved more than life.

* * *

Matt woke up gingerly at first, almost as if he'd been beneath the waters of a lake and then had floated up to the surface where he began to see the light from the world above him.

He tried to break through and slowly he heard the voices around him grow louder and the words clearer.

"Watch for signs of infection but we'll put him on antibiotics just in case," a man's voice said, "and I'm still waiting on the MRI scan."

"What…"

The doctor came into view and looked down at him intently.

"You're awake…I'm Dr. Lewis and I and my crew have been working on getting you fixed back up after that nasty accident."

Matt tried to remember but only a flash of images appeared, none of them lingering long.

"Yes, you have a nasty concussion and some lacerations but you came out of it pretty well considering how you were found."

Matt felt his head aching.

"I don't remember it."

Dr. Lewis nodded.

"It's not uncommon for people with head injuries to suffer memory loss especially about the trauma that caused the injury. Your memories of the accident probably won't return but…"

"I don't remember more than that," he said, "Somehow I don't think I'm still in L.A."

The doctor furrowed his brows and Matt knew that what he had told him caused concern but Dr. Lewis recovered quickly enough.

"Okay then that's not uncommon either," he said, "You know your name don't you?"

Matt felt his impatience seep up to the surface, and nodded.

"I'm Matt Houston and I'm a private investigator back in L.A."

"Well that might be but you're a couple hours south of San Francisco and your car was found at the bottom of a cliff."

Matt frowned, dizziness filling him.

"That can't be…I was back in L.A. and I'm engaged to be married to…Elizabeth where is she?"

Then an even more primal question struck him.

"Where's C.J.? Somehow I think we were together for some reason."

Dr. Lewis looked at him confused.

"You were wearing a wedding ring when you came here but we took it off," he said, "It's with the rest of your things in a safe place. So you must have a wife and there's no one named C.J. who's here."

Matt felt confusion turn his dizziness into nausea. He reached blindly for some water and the nurse helped him sip from a glass, slowly to keep him from swallowing too quickly.

"She must be and Elizabeth, if she's my wife, where is she?"

Matt felt agitation and Dr. Lewis knew it because he tried to calm him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, what you need is rest now," he said, "You're a very lucky man Mr. Houston and we'll talk about this after you get some sleep."

"But…"

Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a nurse inject a syringe into his IV bag and his eyes began to flutter quickly, then the heaviness, he couldn't fight it.

C.J….Elizabeth…what the hell was going on with him and why couldn't he remember?

His last thought before he fell unconscious again, in a place where his questions couldn't ever be answered.


	13. Chapter 13

I hope this story's making sense to those reading it. I know it switched a bit in the past couple chapters. Bear with me, it's going somewhere and thanks for reading.

Matt felt stronger the second time he woke up, resting against the back of his hospital bed, freed of any medical equipment save the damn IV bottle. The nurse had been adjusting it when he woke up and he had enough lucidity to feel uncomfortable wearing the way too revealing hospital gown he hated.

But his head still ached, though not as much as earlier and the sun shone brightly inside his room. The nurse turned towards him when he stirred with a smile on her face.

"Mr. Houston, nice to see you awake again," she said, "You had quite a long sleep there."

He felt some traces of grogginess from what he didn't know but his strength had already begun to return.

"What time is it?"

"It's about 1 p.m.," she said, "But you were asleep on and off for a while, two days in fact."

Matt blinked his eyes, trying to sit up, but he felt faint.

"Easy with that, it'll come back to you quickly enough," she said, "We were trying to get in touch with your relatives."

"My wife…"

The nurse looked puzzled.

"You told us you were married to a woman named Elizabeth?"

Matt frowned trying to remember what still eluded him.

"No…yes, I was told I was married because I had a wedding band but I don't remember much about that."

The nurse nodded sympathetically.

"I can see where that might cause some stress, but don't you worry, your memory will come back soon and you'll remember her."

Matt sighed, thinking that his lack of ability to remember his wife or being married could be the fodder of late night jokes but he had tried so hard to search his mind for even the remnant of a memory, an image of something that he had shared with his wife…but nothing came to him.

But what about C.J…maybe they could contact her back in L.A.

"My business partner and best friend and business partner, she would know," he said, "If you call Houston Investigations back in L.A., you should be able to reach her."

The nurse nodded.

"We'll do that," she said, "But you need to rest still and will make sure we notify her about what happened to you."

Matt lay back wanting to see her so much now, a familiar face that had been a solid support for him throughout their lifelong friendship. Yet, there was something else but he couldn't figure out what, just that he had missed something.

When had he last seen her anyway? He remembered she had been concerned with him about his upcoming wedding to Elizabeth yet he grew puzzled because then they'd been together working on cases. But he couldn't quite remember what they involved.

Then flashes of what must have been his wedding day popped into his head suddenly. He had worn a tux …his uncle had been there and others he cared about and the bride? She had been beautiful yet he couldn't quite see her face. He just felt his heart nearly go into overload as it swelled with indescribable emotions as he looked down the flower strewn aisle.

Who had been there, had it been Elizabeth. But he frowned; somehow something didn't fit his fragments of memories that didn't do much to help him make sense of the missing parts of his life. Maybe C.J. could help him; after all she had agreed to be the maid of honor at his wedding to Elizabeth.

The doctor whizzed in about then and examined him quickly yet thoroughly and then shook his head.

"I can't believe that you've bounced back so well from a pretty serious crash," he said, "but your body's healed a lot in two days and the latest scans were good."

Matt just shook his own head at the doctor.

"But I can't remember…"

"You might not get all of your memories back," he said, "but you have a better chance for those further away from the accident, it just might take some time."

Matt wanted to accept that, except a wave of urgency filled him suddenly, that he didn't have all the time. He had to remember his past beginning with his wedding and then figure out why he'd crashed. The few details that had been provided that he'd just gone off the cliff didn't make any sense. After all, he knew how to handle a car even at high speeds, enough to avoid crashing.

Maybe he hadn't been alone on that road.

But if so, had someone else caused him to drive off the cliff? And if so, why?

Thinking about the possible answers to those questions made his head ache even more so he tried to settle back and take it slowly like the doctor advised. Dr. Lewis made some adjustments in his chart and then left the room.

* * *

C.J. lifted herself out of bed and went to go get dressed. After two days of enforced rest, she'd been ready to get back on her feet. Sr. Angelina had visited her a couple times daily and had encouraged her to do that. She felt less battered and bruised than she had when she first arrived but the soreness still remained deep in her marrow.

But inside her heart, she couldn't even go there. No, every time she thought of Matt and what had happened, it almost made her heart stop. She couldn't let that happen, because she had to get better and go back to L.A. and deal with the aftermath of his loss.

That's what made her push herself even as every muscle in her body rebelled. She ate her meals, even when she didn't want to touch any food. And when she could, she went out into the garden area where the nuns worked amid rows of greens and other vegetables tending to their crops. She hadn't spent much time with any of them except for Natalie and Angelina and they glanced curiously her way for a moment but then went straight back to work a few hours diligently broken only by the noon day meal and then a couple of prayer sessions inside a small chapel.

She'd sent on the bench and let the sunlight hit her, its warmth easing her soreness somewhat but even inside the four stone walls that surrounded the garden, her mind would escape back to the past weeks when she and Matt had been enjoying their marriage. How it felt to greet the mornings snuggled up next to his warm body and his arm around her as they walked through the village where they had stayed. She fought to imagine what his face had appeared the last time he'd looked at her while they had been driving.

But her throat choked up at that point, and tears sprung to her eyes and she had to push them back. She couldn't release that part of herself yet or she'd never get up again.

Now if she could only find a phone to call Uncle Roy in L.A. if he hadn't been notified already and then he could get in touch with his son, Will. She didn't want to be the one to tell him the news but decided if he didn't know she didn't want it to be from a stranger.

Natalie walked by and C.J. called to her. The nun turned around, her jeans smudged from her time in the garden.

"How are you feeling," Natalie asked.

"Better…I was wondering if I could use your phone to make some calls," C.J. said, "There are some people I need to notify about the accident and about Houston…"

She couldn't finish the rest of her statement.

"The head prioress has the only phone," Natalie said, "That's Sister Agnes and she's been keeping an eye on your progress. I can talk with her."

C.J. nodded and thanked her.

"I don't know how to tell them about Houston…my husband," she said, "I heard some…I think he's dead."

Natalie's face looked grave.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "I will tell Sr. Agnes that you requested the phone to make some calls."

C.J. watched Natalie join the other nuns in the garden and sat back, closing her eyes but when she did that, Matt returned his smiling, damn gorgeous face and the body that had loved hers so thoroughly.

And she wondered if it was too late to ask for a miracle.

* * *

Matt walked the hallway dragging his damn IV bottle. The nurse had encouraged him to walk in his skimpy hospital gown and it had been shaky going at first until his legs had felt stronger. He had always kept himself in great physical condition his whole life so that had no doubt helped him recover from the accident.

Now if only his memory would return. Had the inside of his head scrambled so much in the crash that he'd be missing pieces of his past forever? His dreams had haunted him because there had been this beautiful woman kissing him in ways that had left him feeling aroused when he had woken up.

Damn crazy considering the circumstances but he could still taste her on his mouth even as the dream started wafting away in the light of day. Who had it been, Elizabeth? Somehow it hadn't seemed like her but, there had been something very strange yet very familiar at the same time.

It had left him wanting until the pain of his injured muscles had caught up with him but as he walked the corridor, his mind drifted back. After his exercise, he planned to call C.J. in L.A. and update her on what had happened to him, reassure her that he was doing just fine. Then maybe ask her to contact his wife for him without letting on just how confused he had been by the news that he'd been married.

Surely his best friend would help him fill in the gaps of his memory.

He just couldn't understand why he had dreamed about a woman who come to think of it, hadn't looked at all like Elizabeth, who had curls of fiery red hair and blue eyes. That hadn't resembled the women in his dream but maybe if he ran a description past C.J. she could help him figure it out.

But then there had been this crash and why it had happened. He could push any car to its absolute limits and it's like he had never been in an accident as a result, but this time, to just send his car flying off a steep cliff made absolutely no sense. But when he tried to remember, he hit a wall right off.

He decided to head back to his room and found next to his bed, a telephone so he settled back down and reached for it. He dialed C.J.'s cell phone number which thankfully came to his mind quickly. But there was no response at all. Maybe she had it turned off for some reason and he could try back later.

The nurse came in then to check up on him and asked him if he felt up to eating some lunch. Matt hated hospital food with a passion, had his friends sneak him in better fare when he could get away with it but now, he noticed he did feel hungry.

"As long as I can identify what I'm eating."

The nurse chuckled.

"I can tell I'm going to have to watch you carefully Mr. Houston."

She left the room and he eyed the phone again. Maybe he should try the office instead. Reach C.J. there or Uncle Roy or even Chris. With all the employees working there, one of them would surely answer the phone.

He could even deal with Murray at this point if he happened to be in L.A.

So he picked up the phone and punched in the number to Houston Investigations and then waited for someone to pick up.

Somewhere miles away, Dmitri had been briefed by the men he had hired for the simple operation of waiting for the right moment to snatch up Matt and C.J. not kill them. But he had been trying to verify that both of them had indeed been killed and until the men called him back, he could only hope that two of the major obstacles between him and his lucrative business had indeed been eliminated.


	14. Chapter 14

Matt waited for the phone to be answered by someone at his investigations firm and finally he heard a woman's voice greeting him.

Chris.

"Hey it's me Houston, I'm calling from…I'm not sure where," he said, "I've been in an accident."

The news clearly shocked his receptionist.

"Oh my god, are you all right?"

"A little banged up but doing better," Matt said, "I've been in the hospital for a few days."

"So that's why you haven't been answering your cell," Chris said, "I'll tell Murray and your uncle. He's coming back from Toronto."

Matt paused.

"What's Uncle Roy doing up there?"

"Oh he's just tying up a few loose ends on a case," Chris said, "I'll be sure to tell him what happened. What's the name of the hospital?"

"I'm not sure…," Matt said, looking around, "Let me see…Oh it's St. Miriam's General Hospital."

"Where's that?"

"I don't know. Somewhere a couple hours out of San Francisco but I'm not sure. I'm having some memory loss."

"Oh…okay. I'll call your uncle."

"What about C.J., can I talk to her?"

A longer pause greeted his question.

"Chris…"

"Oh sorry but Matt, isn't she with you?"

Matt felt confusion fill him once again.

"No…No she's not, what do you mean?"

Chris paused again and Matt wondered if she was choosing her words carefully.

"You were both taking a vacation after finishing that case," Chris said, "You said you'd be back to L.A. in a couple of weeks."

That didn't make any sense to Matt. If that were the case, then where was she? No one even seemed to know who she was at the hospital.

"I guess I don't remember that part. I haven't seen her at all since I've been here and no one's mentioned her to me."

Chris remained silent and Matt knew she didn't know how to respond to that.

"Look, I'm sure I can clear it all up," he said, "But if you could call Uncle Roy for me, I'd…"

"I'll do it right away Matt."

She hung up to do just that and Matt just stared at his own phone. If C.J. had been up here with him, then what had happened to her? Then his blood chilled when it hit him, had she been in the car with him when it crashed?

His heart shifted deeply inside of him and everything grew still around him, until all he could hear was his heart beating.

* * *

C.J. the one constant in his life, his best friend couldn't be dead. They would have told him wouldn't they if that had happened?

Dr. Lewis came in at that moment to check on his patient.

"Hi there, I heard you took a stroll out in the wing."

Matt looked up at him.

"Where's C.J., I haven't heard anything about her."

Dr. Lewis furrowed his brow.

"Who's…is that your wife?"

Matt shook his head.

"She's a friend…she was with me."

Dr. Lewis worked his jaw and then shook his head.

"You were found alone in the car by paramedics. There wasn't anyone else."

Matt sunk his head in his hands, sweat breaking out on the back of his neck.

"That can't be. She was with me but she's not here," he said, "Why isn't she here?"

Dr. Lewis saw his agitation and put his hand on Matt's shoulder.

"It's all right, you must just be confused. No one's reported seeing any woman with you in the crash so she couldn't have been with you."

Matt's mind swam with so many possibilities. He didn't even know where to begin but he needed some answers because the alternative…no he just couldn't believe that she could be gone.

"You're still going to need some rest," Dr. Lewis said, "That might help your memories to return."

Matt just looked at him not finding the words to respond. His mind was focused on his best friend and what had happened to her. The doctor started to leave then turned around.

"We do have some of the items that were on your person and inside the car," he said, "I can have the nurse bring them to you with some paperwork to sign."

Matt just nodded and watched the doctor leave. Hopefully the inventory of items would provide some clues to tell him that he'd been alone inside the car and that C.J. had just been elsewhere and hadn't heard what happened to him. He clung onto that hope because if she had been in the car, they would have surely found her.

Yes, she just had to be out there somewhere not knowing what had happened to him, trying to find out why he had never returned.

* * *

C.J. followed Sr. Natalie in the office to meet with Sr. Agnes, to ask about using the phone. The older nun sat at her desk in more formal attire, suited to working in an office.

"How may I help you," she asked.

C.J. took a deep breath, taking in the simple décor of the office that included paintings of Christ and what looked like Mary Magdalene on the wall.

"I'd like to call someone to tell them about Houston…my husband."

Agnes nodded slightly, her eyes grave.

"Yes I heard that he had been killed. I'm so sorry for your loss. Yes of course you can use the phone."

C.J. sat on an empty chair and the nun handed her the phone. She concentrated on the number pad pressing in a phone number. She thought she'd call Chris or someone at Houston Investigation. Had they been informed about what had happened to Matt already? If they hadn't been, then she'd have to steel herself to tell them.

"Houston Investigations, this is Chris speaking."

Then the words flowed out of C.J.

"Oh god, I can't believe I'm talking to you…"

"C.J. is that you are you okay," Chris said, "We just got the phone call."

C.J.'s heart chilled.

"You already got the news?"

Chris paused on her end.

"Yes…we heard about the accident," she said, "Matt called us a while ago."

C.J.'s felt an electric shock rip through her.

"What…I thought…he's alive?"

"Of course, he was banged up he said but he was looking for you."

So many thoughts raced through C.J. too many to sort them out what to do, what to say first.

"I'm…I'm safe, I can't say where," she said, "Some men tried to kill us, they ran us off the road I think."

Chris sucked in her breath.

"Matt didn't say anything about that," she said, "but he said he couldn't remember everything."

C.J. felt her body weaken but out of relief so intense it threatened to knock her over. She felt an overwhelming need to see him again, to wrap her arms around and pull him close so she could feel his heart beating against her chest and know for sure.

"Where is he?"

"He wasn't sure when he called. He thought it was St. Miriam's General Hospital."

C.J. had no idea where that was but maybe the nuns could help her find it, so she could rush over to reunite with him.

She thanked Chris and got off the phone, turning to look at Sr. Agnes.

"Thanks…he's at St. Miriam's hospital. Do you know where that is?"

Agnes nodded.

"We can take you there if you'd like but you need to eat some lunch first."

C.J. felt too excited to eat but knew Agnes was right. Then she had another thought, remembering the men who had been sent to kill them. Maybe they had realized Matt was still alive and were at the hospital. She had to go to the hospital to warn him.

But she needed to find the perfect disguise first.

* * *

Matt had dozed off a bit after eating what passed for lunch. When he woke up, he stretched and got out to walk over to the window. He looked down a couple floors to the parking lot and saw about a dozen spaces filled. Then his eyes caught a dark colored sedan and outside of it, a man dressed in a suit.

He just stood there and it looked like occasionally he turned his head towards the driver's side window of the car meaning that the guy was not alone. His instincts honed by years spent observing a wide variety of people told him the man seemed to stand out. Then another man got out of the car and reached for a dark object and put it in underneath his shirt.

Definitely up to something, Matt thought and that's when his intuition went into overdrive. His heartbeat quickened, his muscles grew tense and he knew he had to get out of the hospital. He didn't know why but he knew he had to act quickly.

That meant first he had to find something else to wear beside his hospital gown. He knew that he had to find the supply room, somewhere on the floor. So he winced as he pulled out his IV needle and without looking back, he left the hospital room. He looked down the hallway and saw the elevator open and the two men inside of it but they didn't look in his direction as they got out and went to the nurse's station. He hurried and decided to go to the stairwell and try to find clothes on another floor. No one seemed to notice as he looked carefully around before he slipped inside the stairwell after carefully opening the door.

He walked upstairs and after opening the door and finding the corridor empty, he checked doors until he found the right one. After he walked inside and found it empty, he found some scrubs hanging and changed into them. He found a matching hat to put on his head and then left the room to return into the hallway, trying to find his way out of the hospital before anyone noticed he was gone.

And before those men caught up with him, he had to find out what happened to C.J.

* * *

The habit itched her skin but C.J. ignored its heaviness as she adjusted her crucifix and walked into the hospital. Sr. Natalie said she would check back with her after stopping at the general store. That gave her plenty of time to find Matt, in fact as she entered the building her pace quickened because she couldn't wait to see him.

But the hospital wasn't familiar to her so she had to ask the information desk to see if she could find out where they had placed him. The harried woman looked up and told her to go to the second floor to the nurse's station so she did that, getting on the elevator.

She got off and talked to the nurse who didn't seem thrown by having a nun asking her these questions. The nurse ran through the list on the computer and told her the number of his room so she headed on down there but then she saw them.

Two men standing outside the room and she stopped, watching them carefully. Her eyes widened as she recognized one of them. She hadn't gotten a good look at them when they'd been by the crashed car but she knew that they must be the two men who had tried to kill them.

And were they trying to finish off Matt?

But then she saw them leave just as quickly and when they passed her, she turned her back and ducked her head. Her heart beat in her throat when they walked by but they didn't notice the nun. After they were out of sight, she walked back to Matt's assigned room and wondered if she'd arrived too late but saw that the bed was empty.

So where had he gone? Did they take him to run some tests or had he left on his own? She had to try to find him. Walking the hallway didn't produce any results so she headed towards the stairwell and then stopped as she heard the men walking below her.

"What are you going to tell the boss," one of them said, "That he disappeared into thin air inside a hospital?"

"He must be here somewhere. We'll find him."

Then it became quiet so she assumed they walked through a door leading to another wing. She decided to head upstairs and when she finally opened the door, she stood face to face with a doctor.

One who even in scrubs and wearing a surgical mask looked awfully familiar.

"Houston…"

His eyes widened as he took in the nun in front of him.

"Hey, C.J. is that you?"

Her eyes burned as she nodded and he took her into his arms and squeezed her to him. She wrapped her own arms around him, not wanting to ever let him go.


	15. Chapter 15

Okay, I'm still working on this one and hoping it makes sense. Thanks for reading and the feedback!

* * *

When she felt his arms around her, she felt as if she had come home. His warm body wrapped around her, she didn't know of anything in the world that she liked more than that. She rested her head against him even though the habit she wore made that awkward.

Finally they pulled apart and she studied his face like he did with her.

"Oh god Houston, I thought you'd been killed."

Matt sighed, touching her face, feeling the dampness there.

"I didn't know where you were," he said, "and no one could tell me."

"It's okay, we're together and that's what matters but we've got to get out of here. Those men…"

"I know, I saw them out in the parking lot," Matt said, "and they were looking for me. I don't know why."

She moved past him and beckoned for him to follow her inside a deserted room.

"Those two men, I saw them after we crashed. They thought you were dead and they didn't look too hard for me."

Matt's brows knit in confusion.

"Why…why did they want to kill us?"

She gave him a puzzled look.

"Because of Dmitri," she said, "We busted him when we went undercover. You remember, don't you?"

He just looked at her.

"No I don't, since the crash, the doctors said I injured my head and I've got lots of holes in my memory."

They both heard footsteps outside the room. More than one set of them.

"We've got to get out of here," she said, "and find Sr. Natalie."

Those brows knit again.

"Sister who?"

She just sighed.

"Long story, I'll tell you later," she said, "She's supposed to meet me…in an hour but I know where to find her."

Matt didn't feel like arguing because she seemed to know what she was doing and he had been struggling for his own bearings since he woke up in the hospital.

"There's a back entrance," she told him, "We'll take that way out."

He nodded and they both slipped back down the stairwell and took it all the way down, proceeding carefully. But it remained deserted and they continued, until they reached a door at the bottom. Matt opened it slowly and through the widening crack saw another parking lot.

They walked across it weaving through parked cars until they reached an alley behind it that led to a street. C.J. told him they had to find the general store and Sr. Natalie.

"I've been staying at this convent."

Matt arched his brows and she smiled.

"No seriously, the nuns there helped me after the accident," she said, "I wasn't in the best of the shape especially thinking you were dead."

He responded to her by slipping his arm around her waist and they walked down the street until they met up with a larger thoroughfare and after turning right they saw the general store ahead. C.J. looked for the nun and saw her piling groceries into the back of her car.

They headed to Natalie and the nun turned around, her eyes widening when she saw Matt.

"Hi, are you her husband?"

Matt looked back confused and C.J. noted his look.

"He's Matt Houston," she said, "He was injured in the crash but not killed."

Natalie nodded unfazed by the update.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sr. Natalie," she said, "I told C.J. I'd meet her later to take her back. Will you be joining us?"

Matt looked over at C.J.

"Would that be okay," C.J. asked, "If not, we can stay in town somewhere."

Natalie shook her head firmly.

"No he's welcome to come back," she said, "We've got guest quarters for visiting priests and other male guests. Sparse of course if that's not a problem."

Matt shook his head.

"Anything's better than a hospital."

Natalie eyed his getup.

"We also have some extra men's clothes if you'd like to change," she said, "By the time we return; it will be an hour before dinner."

"Sounds good," Matt said, as they both got into the car along with Natalie to head back to the convent.

* * *

Matt changed his clothes, to jeans and a woolen shirt inside the small but neat guest room. They fit comfortably and afterward, he went to find C.J. who was sitting out in the garden helping to weed some greens while the nuns had gone to evening chapel services. He knelt down to join her as she worked.

"Nice garden."

"Yeah it provides a lot of their food," she said, "They preserve plenty for the winter months."

"They're secluded here," Matt said, "but this is a beautiful area."

C.J. looked at him and he could see the fading bruises more clearly on her face now that she wore jeans and a sweater and not the habit. His eye caught her left hand and saw the golden band there. Strange, because he didn't recall her ever getting married but maybe he'd lost that memory.

But if so, where was her husband now?

She had caught his attention to her ring and her eyes, he saw something flash in them momentarily and then she returned to picking weeds in a row of tomato plants. "

"C.J., she mentioned your husband," he said, "Who was she talking about?"

She looked at him and then it hit her that he couldn't remember being married to her. That all the memories they had shared together in the past week or so were among those he had lost. That realization splashed through her like ice water but she had to push those feelings away for now.

Somewhere out there, Dmitri was trying to kill them. But she couldn't lie to him either about their current status.

"You're my husband," she said, "We got married a couple months ago."

His face wore shock, his eyes blinked and she knew he had reeled from what she had just told him. His body tensed and his eyes, they searched hers.

"What…how?"

The questions shouldn't have been unexpected but his tone stung a bit.

"We were married because we needed to be in order to go undercover to bust a man named Dmitri who's a major criminal. We were working with some federal agents."

Matt ran his hand through his hair, trying so hard to remember any of it. He had vague recollections of an island with jagged cliffs surrounded by an ocean so clear it didn't seem real.

A powerful man, ruling it and a job he had been doing. But they had gotten married?

"So it's not real, our marriage?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"It's legally binding but we were going to annul it after the case ended," she said, "It would have been so simple, a few signed papers and it would have been like it never happened."

Matt had a hard time believing that but if they had done that why was she wearing his ring?

He had worn one too. Dr. Lewis had said that they had removed it when they treated him and it still waited at the hospital for him.

Suddenly, Sr. Natalie came out and told them the dinner bell had rung and they followed her into the dining area where the other nuns sat down to eat after helping themselves to steamed vegetables and broiled fish. Matt and C.J. went to fetch their meal and to join them at the crowded table.

* * *

Afterward they had been out sitting in the garden, quieted by darkness and lit up only by a sliver of moon. She had picked out a bench and he had sat down next to her, trying to figure out how to pick which question to ask her first.

She looked over at him.

"About the marriage…"

He shot her a look back.

"It's still in effect isn't it?"

She nodded.

"I know we were supposed to dissolve it but we never did."

"Why didn't we?"

She looked at him then, not knowing what to say next. After all, the memories he had etched into her body and heart still remained with her. But his own had been stripped from him by the accident. All he knew was their tight friendship which had always been platonic.

Not so their marriage.

"It's complicated."

Now there was a start but what to say next? He just frowned at her.

"Why is that," he said, "If we only married for an undercover job?"

She paused, nibbling on her lip.

"Oh Houston, I don't know how you're going to take what I have to tell you."

He sighed.

"I can take a lot, can't be that bad. Nothing between us could ever be."

That gave her some encouragement to move forward with what she had to tell him. Her skin flushed with memories of what they had shared but her stomach roiled with not knowing how he'd react to the news.

That they'd been lovers, that they had crossed that final boundary between them.

"Why don't you just tell me," he asked gently.

Her eyes shot up to look into his own eyes that had been filled with questions.

"After we were finished with the case we were going to fly to Reno on the jet to…get the marriage annulled. "

"And…?"

She sighed, her eyes looking away from him for a moment.

"Well we never made it to Reno," she said, "We can't get the marriage annulled now."

"What do you mean?"

She gave him a pointed look and his eyes blinked then because he understood.

"We consummated our marriage."

The tone in his response didn't tell her very much. No doubt what she had told him had been a shock and he had to sort through it.

"Really…?"

Did he just sound amazed right now, she wondered and then reminded herself she couldn't blame him for that. She started to get up but he grabbed her arm.

"No don't go," he said, "I'm…"

"I know it's a lot to process for you because you don't remember Houston," she said, "but it happened and we can deal with it."

His mind reeled, she could tell but he nodded.

"I know that," he said, "and since it happened I must have wanted it to."

She smiled.

"I guess you could say that," she said, "but I realize everything's changed now and I understand that. So I think it's important for us to give each other some space."

"But C.J…"

She sighed.

"I need that too," she said, "Besides we have to focus on trying to stop Dmitri from trying to rub us out. We can deal with the marriage after we do that."

Matt felt like she had dismissed that part of their relationship abruptly. Not that she didn't have a point because they clearly were dangerous men out there who had them in their cross hairs. But he had shared something major with her he didn't remember and that ate at him. The two of them had after years of being the closest of friends had made love and his lack of memory of it; damn it frustrated the hell out of him. But she had closed the book on that issue at least for now.

She studied his face for a long moment and he had the feeling she was memorizing it. All he could think of now was what it must have been like to kiss her, to taste her soft skin beneath his mouth and his eyes closed before all the questions rushed in to replace what he had lost.

Stroking his cheek gently, she looked at him with a sad smile.

"It's getting late," she said, "We're both recovering from the accident so maybe we'd best get some sleep and figure out what to do tomorrow."

He set his jaw at her suggestion. Did she mean…no of course what they had to decide was how to handle Dmitri's assassination attempts. She stood up and slipped away from him into the shadows before he could grab hold of her again.

The woman who had been his friend since childhood and had become his wife, he thought as he sat there for a while longer in her wake.

____


	16. Chapter 16

C.J. lay back in her bed by herself, waiting to fall asleep. Hoping that she wouldn't spend the entire night awake thinking about him, and wishing he were lying next to her. She'd give anything to be wrapped up in his embrace right now, his arms around her waist and her back snuggled against him.

But instead he slept in another room on the other side of the convent.

He had seemed a bit surprised to discover that the two of them had gotten married and she had seen his face when she had told them that they had slept together after years of keeping each other at bay.

The stunned look on his face, ouch.

Still he had recovered soon enough to say that if they had made love, he must have wanted to do that. She knew that had been the truth that he had wanted it every bit as much as she did.

When it had been happening between them, but what about now when he had no recollection of that time they had spent together. She realized that the past week or so not to mention the time spent in the undercover assignment had been lost to him.

Perhaps forever.

They were still married until they initiated divorce proceedings and no doubt along with the rest of it, he had forgotten their thirty day deal. She wouldn't ever hold him to it. Whatever he felt like doing, she didn't want him to stay married to her if he didn't want to do that. Right now, they had to deal with Dmitri out there trying to find and kill them as an act of revenge.

But at some point, they would have to deal with it.

She sighed, pulling her sheets up above her waist and trying to find a comfortable position. To try to put him out of her mind for the night until she'd see him in the morning, she had to get some sleep. But she kept flashing onto his stunned face at the news of what they had done.

What would it mean to both of them if he never remembered; if he had gone back to being the person he had been months earlier. She didn't have much of an idea which time frame he lived in because of his lack of recollection about Dmitri and his threats against them.

Still he had recovered quickly enough when the two assassins hired by him had come looking for him in the hospital. They had gone in to finish him off no doubt but he had escaped and found her.

She figured they were safe enough in the convent. The nuns would never betray their whereabouts and the hired men might not think to look in this direction, believing instead that Matt and her had gone back to L.A. Not that they didn't need to do that at some point when it would be safer for them.

They had planned to return together only days ago, to buy some property together and maybe…no she couldn't think about it now not with how things had changed so quickly. She had to be content with the fact that he hadn't been killed after all and trust that they'd sort somehow through their complex relationship. But right now, she missed his warmth and the security of feeling his warm breath on the back of her neck and his arms squeeze her when she first woke up in the morning.

God this was so hard but he had survived and so had she and that was the important thing.

* * *

Matt tossed and turned in his bed, his muscles relaxing before a thought drifted in his head to remind him of what had walked away from him.

The woman he had married only he had no memory of that event. Not to mention the time spent together that had followed including…his mind tried so hard to remember what it had been like when they'd been together in every sense of the word. He had often wondered what it'd be like if they had hit the sheets, what she'd look like, how her skin would feel, her lips taste beneath his own. Their bodies intertwined as they joined, uniting them and their hearts into one.

And according to her, they had done just that only he couldn't remember. No matter how much he wanted it, he drew a blank every time he struggled to recall what it had been like with her. Only there had been his dreams, evocative images of a beautiful woman with dark wavy hair whose kisses branded him. Left him wanting when he woke up from his sleep and found himself alone, his arms reaching for someone who had gone.

He figured now he knew who it had been, the woman of his dreams had been her.

Oh man, funny how life worked out wasn't it? The most recent attempt to their lives by some vengeful bad guy aside, who would have thought that the hottest times of his life had been with a woman he had known most of his life? His skin heated up just at the thought, maybe knowing what it had felt like.

But his mind didn't remember a damn thing!

He sighed, closing his eyes. With all that had happened in the past few days which he did remember maybe he couldn't afford himself the luxury of thinking about him and her. His mind had lingered back to asking himself if he had just broken off with Elizabeth who he knew he had loved even though they couldn't get married, why had he…but then wait a minute more time had passed hadn't it?

Confusion filled him again not for the first time since his accident for sure. She had left him that way after dropping her bombshell in the garden. Part of him wanted to sit there to figure it all out but another wanted to wrap his arms around her and taste her mouth with his own. But then that wasn't like it had been between them, and she had told him that she needed some space too.

He knew by looking into the eyes he knew so well that some of what he said had hurt her though he didn't mean it. She had understood fully well and he knew she didn't hold it against him but the pain in her eyes, he hadn't mistaken it.

But what could he do to rectify it?

She had always been his closest friend but they had deliberately chosen not to take it further than that. Not that he hadn't ever been tempted, given that she had always been a beautiful woman comfortable in her own skin who could keep a man on his toes.

He couldn't let his mind go there; no he needed to get some sleep. He and his wife as it were had some serious planning to do in the morning.

* * *

The nuns filtered out to work in the garden while C.J. and Matt finished up their breakfast of what tasted like cream of wheat tempered with a little sugar.

"So what chores did they assign you?"

She looked up at him.

"The garden and you…"

He quirked his brows while he sipped his dark coffee.

"Shoveling manure, out by the shed," he said.

She covered her mouth with her hand so she wouldn't laugh.

"That sounds pungent," she said, "I guess you'll be sitting by yourself at lunchtime."

He looked at her trying to act hurt.

"And what about you," he asked.

She shrugged.

"I'll think about it."

Matt sighed.

"We've got to figure out what we're going to do next," he said, "I figure we're safe here for a little while."

She nodded.

"So then we go back home, where Dmitri might have his men waiting?"

He scratched the back of his neck.

"We might be able to alert Uncle Roy and Chris and some of the others to help us out," he said, "We might need access to some information at the office."

"Yeah we need to get plenty of background on Dmitri's assassins before we bump into them again."

Matt looked over at C.J. but her face looked calm. He knew that she probably had fear she wasn't showing him and that she wouldn't, pushing that aside with her other very different kind of feelings.

"We're going to get through this like we always do."

She nodded a bit too quickly.

"Oh I know that," she said, "We'd better get a move on before they come looking for us."

They got up and took their tray to the kitchen where a couple of nuns were cleaning dishes and then headed outside.

"How'd you sleep?"

She looked at him sharply.

"Fine…well almost fine," she said, "I kind of got used to your company but I'll adjust."

Not a lot of emotion behind that statement that he could tell and her eyes didn't betray very much either.

"I couldn't sleep very well either."

She sighed, looking at him as they walked outside into the sunlight.

"Look it's been a crazy few days for both of us," she reasoned, "I'm sure we'll make up for it later."

He furrowed his brows wondering what she meant exactly by that. Did she mean sleep or something else? He almost asked but she had closed the subject as they neared the vegetable garden. He grabbed her arm slowly and she stopped looking up at him.

"See you later okay?"

She nodded.

"Sure at lunch," she said, "and I didn't mean what I just said, I'll sit with you."

He smiled at her and reached out to stroke her face. It wasn't anything different than what he'd done out of friendship in the past and she leaned into his hand as she always did.

Then he moved towards the wooden gate that would take him out to where he'd find the manure to shovel. She knew that it'd be used for the garden later. She knelt to the moist earth next to the tomatoes which grew lively amid the vegetables. The weeding had been done with the rooted crops like carrots and onions and now she had to do some pruning of the leaves on the row of plants.

She meant what she had said by wanting a garden. Her heart clenched at her memories of the conversations she had with Matt earlier about finding a place outside the city with plenty of land, certainly more than enough for her own garden. He had told her that he'd go real estate shopping for their place even though they had only committed to 30 days together.

Oh who was she fooling, she had wanted much longer than that with him. She'd wanted her whole life with him. But back then, he'd been a bit pushy with that timeline but now, he had no memory of their marriage at all.

Everything had changed once again this time with a car accident.

When it had happened to her in the backwash of Arizona desert, she had lost more of her memories but had gotten them back when she'd seen Matt crash the prostitution ring that had snared her.

But his memories might be gone for good and then what? He'd have to rebuild that part of his life that had gone missing while fighting along with her to stay alive in the face of Dmitri's retaliation.

First they had to focus on that and if they survived, then there was their marriage. And between the two, C.J. wasn't sure what would be harder.


	17. Chapter 17

C.J. cleared her lunch tray and went out to meet Matt out in the annex area of the convent. He had finished shoveling the manure and had cleaned up enough so that he could join everyone in the dining hall. They hadn't been able to talk much because Sr. Begonia had been querying anyone about whether the convent should start raising curly woolly sheep. The wool when collected could be used for them to make into their own clothing and the excess could be sold at the open market.

Matt hadn't had much to say about it but when pushed to comment by Begonia he had said that a little research might provide them more information on whether it was cost effective. After all, in the real world, he had a couple of businesses.

So Begonia and Angelina had suggested that he do the researching after lunch and after some lobbying, Agnes agreed and told him it was so. He was able to shower up and change into more plain clothes. If they were supposed to make him anything less than gorgeous then C.J. thought they failed miserably. She had found and married herself a fine looking and very sexy husband even if it had been for professional reasons.

Matt had given her the space she needed and it seemed he needed to figure some things out about their status as well. Damn if her body didn't miss him. They'd been going at it quite a bit and she had savored all those moments. After all, she had fantasized about what it'd be like between them in between the sheets. The reality had surpassed anything her imagination could create.

But he had no memory of their lovemaking or even their marriage for that matter, so she felt like she was at square one with her best friend. He believed they were living some time period not long after his broken engagement. A time when they hadn't been having sex, at least not with each other.

"C.J. why did I volunteer for this," he asked.

"You didn't, you were volunteered but you'll do fine," she said, "Need any help?"

They both sat on a wooden pew facing a stain glass window of a crucifix, the sunlight streaming through and casting colors on the pale walls around them.

"No…but we really need to work on some strategy involving Dmitri before he or his men catch up with us again."

A shiver went through her at the thought.

"We need some help from L.A."

"I know but we'll have to find a way to communicate with them."

"Okay we'll do that."

"How much progress had we made in dealing with Dmitri?"

She sighed, smoothing out her pants.

"Not very much, we were kind of busy doing other things."

God, he wished he could remember what it had been like doing them. You wonder most of your life what it'd be like to have sex with a woman and then when you did, you had no memory of it?

And it's not like he had been drunk at the time, the amnesia had come later through a head injury.

"How busy were we…doing other things?"

She suppressed a smile trying to look serious.

"Very busy."

"Oh…"

"Best week of my life," she said softly, "best man I've ever been with."

His heart skipped a couple beats at her admission. But this was his best friend speaking and had he even ever made a move in her direction?

No, in fact he had taken the easy way out numerous times. She told him in a hail of gunfire that she loved him and he didn't respond. She confessed that she was worried about his marriage to Elizabeth impacting their friendship and he unloaded some platitudes. That was after he confessed that he loved Elizabeth while they had been canoodling in C.J.'s bed.

He had taken her for granted so many times it embarrassed him now. He really shouldn't be having this conversation if they were just friends right? But a part of him had to know.

"Really…?"

She just shot him a look.

"Yeah but just forget about it," she said, "but you already have."

He looked away from her and she felt contrite.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean that the way that it sounded but these past several months have been the strangest, some of the hairiest and yet the most wonderful in my life."

That pleased him though he wasn't sure why.

"So what was our wedding like?"

She smiled thinking about it.

"Small and intimate, just our friends and your family," she said, "Of course only a few of them knew it was for show."

He imagined what it must have been like even to have that kind of wedding. C.J. dressed in white and so beautiful and had his uncle been walking her down the aisle towards where he had been waiting for her?

"So we were going to get it annulled afterward," he asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah, we were staying overnight in a hotel in San Francisco and then heading to Reno on the jet to get it done."

"But we missed the flight?"

She smiled, closing her eyes as she remembered.

"You could say that."

"But we violated the terms of the annulment."

She nodded again.

"Yeah, but Houston it was my fault," she said, "We had just returned to the suite and you were just too damn sexy to resist. I couldn't keep my hands off of you and so I kissed you."

"And then we…"

"Oh yeah, we sure did."

Matt had to process that, and it didn't help that his mind helpfully flashed images of how it just might have played out. Only he had wanted it as badly as she did and for as long.

"Houston, it was my fault but I'm not sorry."

He looked at her closely and he didn't think what he saw in her eyes then was guilt.

"What have you got to be sorry about," he said, "I'm a grown man and I was there too even if now I don't remember."

"Must be hard," she said, "but so you know, you were the best lover I ever had barred none."

He smiled.

"It must have been mighty special to share that with you."

She shrugged.

"Maybe it will come back to you," she said, "but since everything's changed, maybe it won't matter."

"C.J…"

"No Houston, you're back in a time when we were just very close friends and that's probably for the best at least right now."

"What about you?"

"Hey, I thought you were dead not too long ago so I'm just glad I was wrong about that."

He reached out and stroked the hair off of her face, wondering what it had felt like to kiss her mouth, to stroke the inside of it with his tongue. What her skin had tasted like, when he had kissed every inch of it as he liked to do. As he'd thought about doing more than once when he had thought about her that way.

"And I don't want to lose you for real next time, so we'd better get to doing some planning," she said.

"Okay then, let's get to work."

* * *

She thought about that later on when she went to get her dinner meal, after they had laid out some basic logistics on what to do next and Matt had come up with a spreadsheet on estimates pertaining to the curly woolly sheep. Agnes had taken a quick look at it and then had said she'd think about it. Matt and she were going to set up a way to contact their people in L.A. the next day and ask them to help create a false lead for the two of them that Dmitri might follow.

If they did that, then it might be safe to return to L.A. She hadn't told Matt of the plans they had made about contacting a realtor to help them find a spread of land outside the city for them to purchase as a new home. It had been idle planning anyway, based on wishful thinking on her part because she didn't think that they'd be sticking with this marriage thing. Matt had just been too footloose for one thing and that had been one factor among others that had sunk his wedding to Elizabeth.

But for her, it had been real. The idea that the two of them could build a life together, create a home in a rural setting surrounded by animals and later filled with children. Now, she had to keep that dream to herself because of all the danger that surrounded them which threatened to vanquish any future for them.

She found a table and started eating. Her appetite had come back in a rush and the physical work she had been doing must be making her hungrier.

"Hey is this seat taken?"

She looked up and shook her head and Matt sat down with his dinner across from her. He eyed her tray.

"You're sure piling it on," he said, "but it must be this clean air stirring up the appetite."

"Houston, it's been a long day and the food's pretty good."

"So how's my wife doing?"

Damn those eyebrows of his again but she felt a thread of sadness inside her.

"Houston, I'm fine and if our marital status is a joke…"

His eyes turned serious.

"No, it'd never be a joke," he said, "It does take some getting used to though."

"You don't have to do that," she said, "If you want, we can still get a divorce after Dmitri's put away."

He paused for a moment.

"What if I don't want one?"

She shot him an uncertain look.

"What are you saying," she said, "You don't even remember us getting married."

He sighed.

"My point precisely," he said, "We got married, we stayed married long enough to…make it a little harder to undo it and I want to figure out why we screwed that all up and never made it Reno."

She shrugged though his words intrigued her.

"Okay Houston but we can't focus on that right now not when someone's trying to hunt us down and kill us."

He couldn't argue with that but while they did that, he'd be figuring out what to next about this whole marriage deal. He always knew if he ever did get married, he'd take his vows seriously but he'd assumed he'd remember saying them.

Then once he figured it all out, he'd come up with a way to convince his wife that needed to stick it out. Because underneath the amnesia and life on the run, they were perfect for one another.


	18. Chapter 18

C.J. just shook her head at the thought of it. Matt sitting there while trying to figure out why they hadn't gone to Reno and annulled their marriage when they had the chance to do that.

Before they had gone and messed up that plan by sleeping together.

She remembered what had transpired between them even if he'd forgotten. But her body really missed him. Sleeping alone in the bed inside the convent cell had just led to her tossing and turning, her arms reaching for him even in sleep. And it wasn't just the sleep she missed.

Okay so they couldn't focus on sleeping in separate beds right now because Dmitri was out there hunting for them. He'd narrowly missed killing them in that car crash and the two assassins he had hired had gone searching for their quarry in the hospital room. If Matt had still been in his bed when they arrived…she closed her eyes not even wanting to imagine it.

It had been hard enough thinking that he'd been dead.

Not that she had to worry about that anymore because he'd proven to have survived the car accident and they were hiding out safely together in a convent. Hopefully the last place their pursuers would look. Matt was helping the nuns to come up with a cost effective way to invest in curly wooly sheep and he told her he'd also try to figure out a way to communicate with L.A.

But it looked like to do that; they might have to venture into town which means they'd be wearing disguises. C.J. figured she could wear the nun outfit again but Matt would have to be a priest and that was pretty funny considering the circumstances. Still, if it would get them to where they needed to go undetected, she was all for trying it.

He looked sexy in everything he wore but especially nothing at all but if she brought that up in conversation, it might complicate matters so she just decided to keep that to herself. What they needed to do was figure out a plan once they got into town in case the hit men hired by Dmitri had hung around. That should be easy enough because they had been in this situation before so they should be able to pull it off.

"You ready to go?"

She looked up at him.

"I guess we'd better get changed," she said, "You got our outfit?"

"Sr. Natalie's going to help with that," he said, "It's awfully generous of these nuns to let us pose as members of the cloth."

C.J. nodded.

"I think they realize what will happen to us if we don't."

He sighed.

"Nothing's going to happen," he said, "This is going to go smooth as silk."

She tried to feel his confidence but she wasn't in any hurry to run into the men who had tried to kill them.

"I guess I'd better get ready myself," she said, "I'll meet you in the front."

"Sr. Natalie's going to leave me the keys to the car so we'll have to take good care of it."

"That means not crashing it," she said, as she went to her bedroom to change into her disguise.

She itched underneath the habit but the headpiece felt better this time. Maybe it just took some practice learning how to put it on properly. She rearranged the crucifix around her neck, feeling like a fraud but they had to do what they needed to do to stay safe.

* * *

Matt waited for her outside the convent building and they walked to the car. He looked handsome in a Thorn Birds kind of way as they headed out to the car. Damn, his dark hair slightly mussed and the way the priest's outfit hugged his impressive figure. She had to stop looking at him or she'd blow their cover for sure.

No, she had to remember to pretend to be a nun and not a woman posing as one having lusty thoughts about the man pretending to be a priest next to her. They slid into the car and got rolling away from the convent towards the town.

C.J. tried to scratch her arms underneath the wooly sleeves. Matt noticed her discomfort.

"That bothering you," he asked.

She shrugged.

"I can handle it."

"C.J. if you're uncomfortable…"

Damn him, of course she was uncomfortable. She was sitting next to the man who rocked her bedposts and had to pretend not to care. This might not be the best time to think about it but her body wouldn't listen.

The road proved curvy until they reached the main highway which stretched out in front of them. She looked around them as they drove to see if they were being tailed but saw no suspicious vehicles.

"Not crowded at all," he said, "Not like back home."

"It's not rush hour either," she said, "Not that I miss that."

He looked over at her, the most attractive looking nun he'd ever seen.

"What do you miss?"

She considered that and he watched her finger her crucifix while looking at her sideways. Some images slipped through his mind of how she looked before…he had kissed her. The smell of lilac, the taste of her mouth and the pressure of her fingers against his back, he swallowed noisily.

"Are you okay Houston?"

He gazed over at her.

"I was just thinking."

She sighed.

"Yeah me too, whether we should go the public library or an internet café to send an email. We could pick up some cell phones."

His mouth quirked, as he listened to her recite their rote list on hand. The one they had both created through experience for surviving while living on the run.

"C.J. that's not what I was thinking about actually."

She glanced over at him.

"Oh really but Houston if we're ever going to get through this…"

He saw the concern on her face, framed by her headpiece.

"We're going to make it," he said, "because we have to sit down and figure out this marriage deal."

"Houston, if you don't want to stay married, I'm sure a divorce wouldn't be so difficult to arrange."

"I didn't say that's what I wanted."

She fidgeted with the woolly sleeves.

"But if you're so worried about it…"

"I'm not; I just wish I could remember everything."

She considered that and hearing the hint of frustration in his voice, she understood what he meant. But she felt like that too because of the memories she had of what they had done which he had lost.

"You will maybe and if you don't, it's going to be fine."

He looked over at her and she just smiled back at him.

"You were very special Houston," she said, "Just so you know."

The tone in her voice, he wished he could remember, but his mind remained stubbornly blank. He looked out and saw the signs saying they had arrived in town. The traffic slowed noticeably when they pulled off on the ramp.

They decided to head to the library, and saw it soon enough in the middle of town. They parked in the tree lined parking lot and got out of the car. A few people milled by not really paying much attention to them. They walked inside and a librarian smiled up at them.

"Greetings Father…"

Matt cleared his throat.

"Father Michael…"

The librarian smiled and C.J. thought she saw a hint of flirtation there.

"And you're…"

C.J. thought quickly.

"Sr. Ofelia."

Matt just looked at her puzzled and she arched a brow at him back. But she knew he was going to tease her over her name choice the first chance he got.

"How might I help you?"

Matt leaned forward, propping his arms on the desk which C.J. thought was a bit informal for a priest. Until she realized he was going to work his charm on the woman.

"We are working on a research project and we need to borrow a computer if you have one available."

The woman bit and fluttered her eye lashes at him.

"We have a room filled with them," she said, "What's your project, maybe I can help you with it."

C.J. almost kicked Matt in the leg but he just smiled.

"I think we've got it under control but if we need your help, we'll be sure to ask."

That made the woman happy, almost as much as if Matt had seduced her on the counter. C.J. wanted to roll her eyes at her husband. She followed the woman into the computer room with Matt just behind her.

The woman turned around.

"Now just to warn you, we do have a filter against…certain explicit sites…but I can see I'm not going to have to warn you about that."

C.J. just smiled, not saying anything because if anything slipped out of her mouth in response, it would no doubt get them into trouble. And she couldn't blow her cover.

Matt just threw the woman one of his innocent looks.

"We understand and no, we both took vows against that kind of thing."

C.J. nodded for effect but when the woman walked away, she just looked at Matt.

"You took a vow? I thought we'd just have to sign a bunch of legal paperwork when we joined up."

Matt shrugged.

"Then it's a good thing that neither of us joined the order."

She just focused on the computer and drew up her email address opening it up.

"What should we tell them?"

Matt thought about it.

"Just tell Chris to go look some items up," he said, giving her a list.

She wrote the items down in the email which were Dmitri's holdings and then clicked and sent it off.

"That wasn't so hard."

"I'm going to send Roy an email with his directions, then we can see about getting some cell phones."

She waited while he did that and then they headed out of the library.

They had gone back to the hospital so that Matt could pick up his valuables which included his wallet and his wedding ring.

And something that belonged to her, a broken necklace with a frog pendant…he didn't recognize it but she did.

"You bought it just for a little wedding present."

The necklace had a broken clasp so she put it in her pocket gently and they went off to work on the phones. After they did that, he contacted Roy who had gotten the email and had already begun to check out the names which he split up with Murray.

"Let's get some dinner okay?"

She nodded, feeling pretty hungry. They headed to a diner and the waitress handed them some menus when they walked inside. They took a booth and ordered soup and sandwich plates.

"I hope they can help us."

Matt looked over at her sitting across from him.

"It's going to take a little time but I think we'll get our answers."

She rubbed her forehead.

"You feeling tired?"

"A little…the hours at this convent are challenging."

He smiled at her and the waitress brought their plates which they both dug into, finding the food delicious.

"We'll be back in L.A. soon," he said, "and Dmitri will be back behind bars."

"I hope so. But we're a ways from getting there."

Matt watched her closely, knowing that she meant more than just bringing a master criminal to justice. She meant the two of them. He hadn't given up on their marriage at all and he needed to convince her of that. Maybe he didn't remember it but he knew he wouldn't have stayed married to any woman unless he really wanted to be with her. He didn't feel in a rush to get divorced from her.

He felt good that he had the time to explore his feelings and her feelings towards one another.

If only Dmitri and his assassins wouldn't come between them.


	19. Chapter 19

Matt and C.J. checked into the hotel without much in the way of luggage. They were in Catamaran Bay in a five star hotel standing on the patio outside the penthouse suite.

She checked out the view of the ocean cresting over the long strip of sand. The breeze which hit her face tasted salty. The two of them had left life in the convent behind them and she didn't miss the scratchy habit she had worn as a disguise. Matt owned the hotel through one of his umbrella companies, a fact he had just remembered after they had been driving along the windy coast in a borrowed Mustang.

That might help them hide their tracks for a little while so they could figure out what to do next in regards to Dmitri. Matt had been on one of the phones they would soon toss talking to his uncle who would do the same. He had ordered them some room service, steaks and fried onions on top of baked potatoes and her stomach rumbled at the thought of it.

The suite was expansive, complete with everything any honeymooning couple would need except that their relationship had changed after Matt had suffered some memory loss in the car accident. But her skin tingled where he had stroked it in longing when he had remembered their marriage. She had showered under the luxurious sprays that came from three different angles and carried a scent of tropical flowers. After toweling herself off she had slipped into some clothes they had picked up along the way. A light sweat suit that clung to her body but she had chosen it for comfort first.

Matt had been wearing jeans and a polo shirt, his dark hair drying from his own shower. She had headed outside to check out the scenery because it had started feeling a bit stuffy inside.

She couldn't blame him for not remembering what they had shared. Even as her body craved his touch, a feeling she couldn't shake. Maybe after dinner, she would go down and go to the piano bar for a while. He had mentioned something about needing to do more research once he talked to Roy.

C.J. just wanted to unwind and have some fun. The setting sun looked so beautiful, splashing shades of red and orange across the bluish sky. She walked past the potted trees and towards the rail. Like she used to do when she'd been back in L.A. working in the penthouse suite with Matt…a hundred years ago. So much had changed since they'd last been there, not the least which was being married to one another. She thought about what it'd be like if they really did go back together and tried to make it all work. Buying a big spread outside of L.A. to turn into their own ranch where they could build a house and live together. Raising dogs and horses perhaps at first and then maybe someday, children…why not?

She wanted that more than anything but what she had was a husband who still believed he had just broken up with his last fiancée Elizabeth.

Footsteps approached, but she didn't really hear them until they had arrived.

"Hey, dinner's waiting."

She just nodded but still looked out at the ocean. He stepped up alongside her and his shoulder brushed hers."

"There's dessert coming later."

C.J. nodded, smiling.

"I'll be in there in a second," she said, "I was just enjoying the view."

"Yeah, It's certainly something isn't it," he said, "and the ocean makes a good backdrop."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Houston…"

His mouth quirked into a smile, like she loved.

"What, I can't flirt with my own wife?"

She turned to look at him, her soft curly hair wafting in the breeze.

"Is that what you're doing?"

He rested his hands on the rail.

"Yeah I'd say so."

She sighed.

"I know this must be very strange for you," she said, "I mean to you, Elizabeth just left you and that must feel pretty raw. "

"Not that raw," he said, "I know now that a marriage between the two of us would never work. We're too different in all the ways that really matter."

"We're different too Houston."

He reached out to stroke her arm looking at her.

"In the ways that make things interesting."

She smiled at that, because they did share many of the same core values.

"Elizabeth, she just got scared that something bad would happen to you," she said, "That you wouldn't come home one night. I know how that feels."

They started walking back into the suite through the French doors.

"So does that mean you're going to divorce me?"

She smiled at him, shaking her head.

"If you are okay with us staying together then so am I," she said.

They walked to the table where their dinner had been set and they sat down to enjoy it. The steak tasted succulent on her tongue, the potatoes perfect. She loved sharing good food with him, whether home cooked or at one of their favorite restaurants. They had eaten out a lot in their line of work, all different kinds of cuisines in different places. Sat in hidden booths and out on dimly lit patios sharing a meal and talking into the wee hours of the night.

"It's really nice…"

He looked up at her in mid-bite.

"Yes it is," he said, "I thought we deserved something special after staying at the convent."

She smiled because there, the meals had been strictly utilitarian, if quite filling.

"I guess we'd better enjoy it because we don't know what's coming up next."

After all, she had to look at all this pragmatically because they were essentially caught in the middle of Dmitri and his deadly men, not knowing where they might strike next.

But she felt pretty safe in this suite given that she doubted that Dmitri's men would come this far off the beaten path to look for them. They would assume that she and Matt her heading back to L.A.

"Would you like some wine?"

He had ordered good vintage but she didn't feel like it. She felt relaxed enough as it was already. tilitarian, if quite filling.

"I guess we'd better enjoy it because we don't know what's coming up next."

After all, she had to look at all this pragmatically because they were essentially caught in the middle of Dmitri and his deadly men, not knowing where they might strike next.

But she felt pretty safe in this suite given that she doubted that Dmitri's men would come this far off the beaten path to look for them. They would assume that she and Matt her heading back to L.A.

"Would you like some wine?"

He had ordered good vintage but she didn't feel like it. She felt relaxed enough as it was already.

"No thanks…I'll take more vegetables instead."

He watched her as she piled them on her plate and then started eating them.

"You turning in early tonight?"

She chewed her food thoughtfully looking at him. This suite had two separate bedrooms so they had dealt with that issue early on. She didn't want him to feel as if he had to prove anything to her. But she had wished that there had only been single bedrooms available.

Then again whenever they had traveled together on business or for investigations, they had always had separate bedrooms hadn't they? Even when they had been to romantic getaways because after all, they weren't going there to be romantic…because even the few times they had played a couple, they had opted for separate bedrooms.

But then put them in a single bedroom suite like happened in San Francisco and look what happened. They missed the early morning plane trip to Reno to undo their marriage. She'd had her fantasies like when they had gone to that resort to help Matt's then publisher friend deal with one of his prize mystery novelists getting murdered. She had joined Matt later because she had a court case and had been so damn tired she had retreated to her very own bungalow.

Of course some guy had been waiting to put her in a chokehold to scare her and Matt into dropping off the case. She had been so rattled by that running to get away from him that when Matt had grabbed her into an embrace, she had sunk against him her heart pounding. Part of her hadn't wanted to go back to her bungalow with him, she had wanted to spend the night with him. Because she had wanted to feel safe, she told herself but also because when he had embraced her so tightly, she had wanted to feel him against her only without their layers of professional attire.

Even back then, she had wanted him for more than a friend but he hadn't shared those feelings so she had never told him.

But everything had changed since they had taken their vows pretending they had meant them. Only she had found herself believing in them, in every word that slipped through her lips.

"C.J…"

"What…oh I'm just thinking Houston."

He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin his hand looking at her.

"About what…?"

About wanting to get up and do some slow and very dirty dancing with him, but if she told him that…which was silly because only days ago they had done that. Life had just become so complicated and with a vengeful crime lord on the loose, they just couldn't afford to try and figure it all out.

She put her napkin down.

"I think I'm going to dress up a little bit and head down to the piano bar."

That perked him up.

"Would you like some company?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I thought you had work to finish."

He shrugged.

"I'll do it later," he said, ""that is if you want company."

She nodded.

"Yeah that will be great," she said, "It's nothing fancy, and the guy's supposed to be good tonight."

He smiled and they rose from the table.

"Then we'd better get ready and on down there," he said, "Maybe you should wear that blue cocktail dress."

She frowned.

"I don't have one like that."

His eyes sparkled suddenly.

"Oh I thought I found one in the closet in the bedroom."

She shook her head.

"I didn't see anything.

He smiled again.

"In my bedroom…"

She crossed her arms and looked at him reproachfully.

"You want me to go in and get it?"

"No I will…wait right here."

She watched him leave and in a moment return with a silky royal blue dress that she just knew would mold to her figure and only had spaghetti straps.


	20. Chapter 20

Oh Matt had known what he had been doing when he had picked out that cocktail dress for her to wear. Maybe he hadn't known that she'd be wearing it down at the piano bar including when he'd asked her to dance to some soft jazz music.

Slow dancing of course.

Their bodies meshed together better in only one way and she remembered that even if he didn't. Still, the way they moved together in rhythm to the music felt nice too. Her hands rested on his shoulder, his around her waist, but everything else definitely close enough together to touch…and to feel her body's reaction. Not that they hadn't danced before many times, at parties, galas and the occasional wedding reception but not that often after becoming lovers.

Damn he didn't remember that change in their relationship while she couldn't forget it. She wondered if this amnesia he experienced would be as permanent as hers had been, meaning that most of what he lost would return when he least expected it. Still his warmth both aroused and comforted her, she'd rest her head against his strength sometimes thinking that she wanted to remain this way forever.

They'd been through much more together than a few spins on the dance floor. Both the highest pinnacles that life had offered as well as some of its deepest valleys when one or the other would serve as the anchor or the rock. When one of them kept a hospital vigil on the other or had nursed them through a broken relationship or wedding. She had been there with him when his father had died of a final heart attack and he had stood beside her while she buried Carl and during the most bittersweet part of that mourning process when she thought…she blinked back tears right now.

The dance floor was no place for them.

He stroked her back just then, including the bare skin not covered by her dress and she shivered. Had he known without seeing that she had needed his touch just then? It wouldn't surprise her if he had because they had always been in close synch with each other because of their lifelong friendship that had been closer than most marriages.

Wait a minute, they were married.

"This guy can play a mean piano."

She nodded against him.

"This is nice."

"Indeed it is," he said, "I think I'm an endorser of this marriage business."

She smiled at that and they continued dancing, as her mind wandered to what it might be like for them if they ever got through all this craziness. The two of them being targeted by a vengeful crime lord and on the run so to speak, but it wouldn't be like that forever. At some point, they'd head back home to L.A. and have to sort through everything like what to do about a marriage that had started off simple and had become so complicated.

But at times like this when he held her against him, it all still seemed simple.

"Houston, we haven't been married that long and you don't remember most of it."

He couldn't argue with the factual information in her statement but she could tell through his body language that he didn't agree with her underlying meaning.

"C.J. I remember enough to know that I wouldn't change anything."

"Really?"

"No I wouldn't and I'll prove that when things settle down a bit. When we're done with this mess and we can go to L.A. and have a talk with that realtor."

Her heart warmed at his words. She most definitely had plans to buy just the right spread outside the city and she wanted to share that with him.

"Yeah really," he said, "I miss having all those cows and horses around and the time we used to spend together."

The music ended again and he left his arm around her and they walked over to a table where they sat.

"We didn't do very much though I did think about it a lot."

One of his brows lifted.

"Like what?"

He sounded intrigued and she smiled again at that sipping her club soda and lime.

"Like when you wear your chaps…I told you about how sexy you looked in them."

He rested his chin on his hand.

"Tell me again…"

She chuckled.

"I do believe I see some color in those cheeks."

She sipped her soda again to stop laughing, to get her words back under control.

"Okay what do you want to know?"

He sighed somewhat dramatically.

"Let's start at the beginning. I'm in the stable wearing my…chaps and I'm still dressed right?"

C.J. put her hand over her mouth at the expression on his face.

"Well at first…"

"Okay then what are we doing then?"

She narrowed her eyes.

"What do you think?"

"Oh I can think of a lot of things," Matt said, "but this is your story."

Her skin prickled at his words and the soft timbre of his voice while he said them.

"Well there's a few times I thought about kissing you there when we were alone," she admitted, "but I didn't know how you'd react."

He waggled his brows at her.

"Oh come on Houston, you would have laughed, made some joke about it, I don't know…made a frog noise or something and it would have been awkward between us."

His face grew more serious.

"Oh yeah…Rupert…"

"And Hildegard, you remember…"

"How could I forget," he said, "Pretty thing with that pink bow around her neck, had old Rupert tied up in knots after he got his hop back."

She had to smile because she had played some real dirty pool with Bo and Lamar back then by using Hildegard to rile up Rupert enough so he'd go jumping after her. But she had wanted so much to cheer up Matt after his ex-girlfriend; some high fashioned model named Christina had pronounced her dislike of frogs. That had sealed the deal with Matt that he was better off without her.

"Okay so I didn't appreciate a good thing when I saw it back then," he said, "If you notice, that's been fixed."

She suppressed her smile.

"I noticed. But that afternoon, oh let's just say Houston I wanted to show you a thing or two."

He leaned forward.

"Then why didn't you?"

She felt flustered.

"Houston, I set myself up for it. I know I did," she said, "for you to make your joke. But I was just trying to cheer you up after Christina left."

That had been the truth. After all, Matt had looked a little down in the dumps chewing on his toothpick while Bo and Lamar had hoped to clean house in the jumping contest before Rupert's revival.

"I know and I wanted to kiss you," he said, "I just enjoyed it too much."

"You mean more than you thought don't you?"

He blinked his eyes because he was remembering the way her mouth had felt when he tasted it. The kiss hadn't lasted long, a friendly brush really but the feelings that it had elicited, not just friendly.

"You weren't the only one," she said, "If Bo and Lamar hadn't been there, I'm not sure what I would have done."

Matt smiled.

"Okay well that's all said and done," he said, "but you got me alone in the stable with my chaps so what comes next?"

She furrowed her brows.

"I don't think I would have ever had the courage."

He stroked his jaw line with his thumb.

"What weren't you the woman who seduced me back in San Francisco?"

She pursed her lips.

"Wait, I thought you didn't remember."

"I don't, but I have quite an imagination," he said, "and it's filling in the gaps."

She nodded.

"Okay I did do it but I couldn't help it," she said, "As soon as we walked into the suite, I just looked at you and I was lost."

"What about now?"

She leaned back in her chair and gazed at him.

"Everything's changed," she said, "You don't remember and you're still getting over your broken engagement."

"That happened months ago."

"But not to you Houston," she said, "To you, it's more recent than that and you need to be able to move on."

"I did, I'm married to you."

She sighed wondering if he was deliberately trying to be difficult. But then deciding that maybe this situation with him not remembering had him confused…

"Houston, you don't remember."

"It doesn't matter," he said, "I know enough that I wouldn't still be married to you if I didn't want to be."

She didn't know how to respond to that because he sounded so certain. Thinking back, he hadn't been the one worried about catching that early flight to Reno to annul the marriage even when it became clear it would be too late to do that. But even if he wanted to stay married, they had still gone into it strictly for professional reasons to complete an undercover assignment.

Not the way that most couples did it. Then again how many of them were hiding out in hotels from some major criminal? Thinking about all this made her head spin and she felt tired suddenly.

"This has really been fun but I'm heading upstairs," she said, "now if you want to join me."

"That sounds like an invitation."

"Is that a yes?"

"Most definitely."

He stood up and they left the table together heading to take the elevator up to the suite. Matt slipped his arm around her waist as they stepped through the open doors. The doors closed and they looked at each other.

"Ever…"

He fiddled with his tie.

"Yeah…"

She smiled as he took that step closer to her and embraced her. Their lips met gently at first and then more purposely as he nudged her against the elevator wall. She felt the slivers of anticipation rush through her as his mouth worshipped her own, the scent of his aftershave and the feel of his fingers when they moved to her face.

The elevator kept moving and she felt his hands move down her arms and to her front where he pressed them against her breasts as he kissed her. The movement of the silk over her skin, she sucked in her breath in response.

Her own hands moved to slip underneath his shirt, longing to stroke his warm skin. So supple and so smooth, she remembered and when her fingers caressed his lower back, he flinched.

"C.J…"

She silenced him with another kiss which he didn't mind at all. But then the elevator came to a stop with a thud and the bell dinged as the door opened. They both looked towards it and saw they had reached the floor of their suite.

"Come on…"

She nodded and followed him out and they walked to the door. Matt whipped out the key card and the door unlocked. After opening it, he swept her off of her feet and into her arms and carried her inside, kicking the door closed behind them.

"Houston…"

But his lips lowered on hers again, and his kisses had the way of throwing her vocabulary through a loop. He headed straight to his bedroom, and as they walked into the dimly lit room, he finally set her down on her feet. She still felt so heady from his kissing.

He kissed her again, his hands slipping to unzip her dress and before she knew it, he had gently slipped it over her shoulders and left her standing there in her lacy bra and panties.

"You look so beautiful."

She arched a brow.

"You sound amazed."

"Oh I am," he said, "that I'm here with you at last."

She furrowed her brows.

"But…oh never mind…"

She moved closer to him and pushed his hands away when he started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Let me."

She did that only it took longer than she thought because the buttons didn't cooperate with her attempts to slip them through the tiny holes. But finally, she got his shirt off and explored his chest with her hands. She loved the way his body felt beneath her fingers, both hard and soft at the same time.

She moved onto his pants and this time he took control and lost them leaving him in his briefs. He grabbed hold of her and she backed him onto the bed with her, the mattress sinking beneath their weight. They lay next together, facing each other. She placed her leg over his, rubbing it while looking at him.

"You ready for this," she said, "I mean I've done this before."

"I'm sure it'll come back to me," he said, stroking her arm before positioning himself on top of her. She opened up her thighs so he could fit in between. He started fidgeting with her bra.

"Houston it's on the front."

He found it and her bra sprung open, leaving her breasts there for him to lavish attention on which he started to do so with his mouth.

"Oh wow…that feels…"

His mouth felt exquisite like she remembered. She wanted to drown in the sensations elicited when he gently sucked one of her nipples inside of his mouth. He did that turning her inside out and then she felt his mouth on her own again, while his hands moved to the waistband of her panties.

Then she remembered something.

"Houston…"

He looked at her puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed, because she had felt him grow hard against her and had wanted him so much but…

"I can't do this."

His brows rose, his breath hard.

"Why?"

She tried to find her breath so her words would return.

"I'm on the pill."

"Okay…that's good, definitely good."

She looked at him apologetically.

"Yeah it would be if I hadn't left them in that car crash over a week ago."

Matt digested that, because if the pills had been left behind in the car, that meant she hadn't been taking them and as far as he could remember, a woman using them to prevent pregnancy had to take them regularly.

"Oh…I see."

"It's been over a week since I took one," she said, "I could get pregnant if we…"

She didn't need to finish. His mind searched for alternatives to get them back on track because she felt so good beneath him.

"What about…is it a safe time for you?"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Houston…it's not an exact science," she said, "if my cycle is one day off…and…"

She started counting backwards and frowned to herself because she'd been too busy rushing between near fatal car crashes and hiding out at convents to keep track.

"C.J…"

"Houston, I'm counting…"

Okay maybe she had been one, maybe two days over but nothing to worry about, her body had just been through a brutal car accident. She looked up at him finally.

"I can't…a pregnancy right now would complicate things even further," she said, "Maybe there's some condoms in the suite somewhere. Don't they usually come in the gift baskets or under the pillow with the mints?"

"C.J. if you got…"

She just looked at him.

"Don't say it. We're on the run from a crime lord hiding out in convents and hotels," she said, "I can't believe you're even suggesting it."

"What?"

She maneuvered her way out from under him and then looked at him.

"Just because we're married, doesn't mean we're ready for that," she said, "We've got so much on our plates already."

He nodded.

"Okay…I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that," he said, "Because we haven't really had the baby talk yet."

She widened her eyes and then got out of bed, and his eyes followed her because after all, she was only wearing her panties. Was she dumping him, was she going to kick him out of the suite?

But when she returned, she flashed him a smile and then tossed him something. He caught it without thinking but when he saw it, he smiled back.

"This means…"

She folded her arms.

"Yeah it means…"

And with that, she joined him on the bed again.


	21. Chapter 21

She woke up sometime in the middle of the night feeling a man's arms around her and his body nestled against her back.

Then she remembered and smiled to herself. She'd spent the last night with her husband and what a night it had been. This time for sure he'd been left with memories that would take more than a knock to the head to wipe them out. She'd made sure of that.

But she had also left him very tired so he'd been asleep since the most recent time they had rocked the bed as her friend Julia called it.

She remembered the spirited woman she had known since childhood who she had spent hours talking to about everything in their lives. Often while sitting on the back porch swing at her house, sipping from tall glasses of iced sweet tea. Julia had often teased her about her earnestness about everything. Where C.J. had been a serious bookworm throughout school, Julia had been more of a party girl but still acing all of her classes.

They talked about their families which served in contrast to each other. Whereas C.J. had only her uncle who considered her more of an obligation than anyone else, Julia's had been extended with three generations living together on one spread in southern Texas.

Needless to say they'd spent hours talking about guys. The ones they dated, the ones that dumped them and the ones they had designs on. Julia usually had no problems going up to a guy she fancied and sweet talking him into asking for her number or doing that herself.

C.J. on the other hand had taken the more cautious approach. She'd had her relationships when she could fit them in her academic life but none of them had really lasted except Carl.

Both of the times he'd been in her life and if some ex-high school classmate named Christian Dean hadn't been obsessed with her, he'd still be alive today and maybe they'd be…she blinked her eyes because she really had loved him.

The arms around her tightened and she closed her eyes remembering how Julia had her own opinions about the relationship between her and Matt. She thought that guys and girls could be best friends but that one of them would always want more than the other.

For many years, C.J. had thought that would be her. She knew she had loved him when there had been gunfire flying all around him inside that abandoned building. But he hadn't said anything in response so she just hoped that he'd forgotten what she had said. That life could move forward as it had always gone. The friendship they shared had to be enough. But then there had been moments like when she had woken up after being shot and felt the warmth of Matt's hand in her own and looking into his reddened eyes and the beginnings of a beard on his face, she knew how long he'd been there. She'd held onto him so tightly when he and Roy had returned with his long-lost cousin in tow and when Will had stood on the brink of suicide on top of that skyscraper.

During the time she had spent talking to Matt's distraught cousin, she had thrown out every thought that came to her, every memory they shared to keep him from stepping over the edge. She knew what it'd do to Matt if he lost his cousin again.

Julia's death that had been hard but Matt had supported her through that and then he had met Elizabeth.

"You awake?"

His gravelly voice interrupted her thoughts. She loved how he sounded in the morning when he first woke up. God, she'd missed him so much the few nights they had been apart since the accident. Last night had more than made up for him as had waking up next to him this morning.

"Yeah…just a moment ago," she said, "What time do we need to leave?"

He kissed a shoulder.

"Not for a little while."

"Houston…we don't want Dmitri to come barging in because we got careless."

"No definitely not," he said, "but it's okay if we relax a little bit."

She sighed.

"We did a bit more than that."

"Yes we did and I enjoyed every moment of it."

So did she but she had to know something.

"You're going to remember what we did this time aren't you?"

He kissed that shoulder again.

"Most definitely…listen we might be on the go but we're also newlyweds."

She relaxed against him believing he did have a point and if she had her way, she'd stay like this forever with him but she wanted them to have a long time together. And that meant not only staying one step ahead of Dmitri and his goons but turning the tables on the master criminal.

After that there would be plenty of time for them to figure out what they had gotten themselves into by getting married.

"Houston, we have to figure out a way to bring him down since the authorities haven't succeeded."

He started nursing her neck with kisses and she wiggled around until she faced him. After brushing a couple tendrils of hair out of her face, he kissed her on her mouth. Her own pulse quickened just from how his lips felt against hers and she wove her arms around him.

"In a few minutes," he told her between kisses.

It took her less than that to agree.

They sat on the patio outside the French doors of the suite eating breakfast which had been a little bit of everything. She loved the Belgian waffles with strawberries and syrup but the omelets had looked good too and she found herself very hungry. Probably from all that exercise last night and Matt ate heartedly too.

"So when will we get in L.A.?"

He looked up at her, his hair damp from the shower they had just shared together. That had been some excitement, their hands sliding all over each other underneath the cascading water.

"In a few hours," Matt said, "We're going to meet Roy at that condo at Venice beach."

C.J. nodded, the elegant yet homey residence being owned by a friend of theirs who traveled frequently on business leaving it empty.

"Does he have the info we need?"

Matt dug into his omelet.

"He's digging it up as we speak and putting it on a flash drive."

She sipped her juice, enjoying its pungent flavor. Just as tasty as the food she had been eating. Maybe it had been the fresh air or the fast pace of their traveling but her appetite had been hearty.

And not just for eating.

"Houston, this is going to work isn't it?"

He nodded.

"We'll make sure of that," he said, "We won't have this hanging over us forever."

"I can't wait until it's done," she said, "and we can get back to our lives."

He smiled.

"The realtor is out looking for the perfect spread outside of town."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Houston, you didn't call a realtor in the middle of all this did you?"

He picked up his glass.

"Murray did," he said, "He had his misgivings at first about us going back to commuting to the office but I think I sold him on it."

"Hopefully we can find the perfect place."

"I know we will," he said, "Plenty of land, a big house with one of those porches that sweeps around."

C.J. nodded, imagining the two of them sitting on their porch with some wine watching the sun set after leaving the bustle of L.A. behind.

"And plenty of room for gardens," she said, "and a sunroom."

Matt smiled.

"A helipad and a barn with plenty of stalls for horses and a nice sized loft," he added.

Her eyebrows rose but she didn't need to be reminded what they had both used lofts for when they'd been growing up.

"Just in case we need some time away from the kids…"

She folded her arms.

"Houston, that's a ways off don't you think?"

He sipped his coffee thoughtfully.

"If we're going to have a whole baseball team of them we'd better start pretty soon don't you think?"

She just shook her head knowing that he was kidding or at least she thought. Sure she wanted children but they needed to spend time together first as a couple. Even though they were best friends, she still felt there was a lot she hadn't known about him.

But she was learning.

At least she had his sensitive spots nailed by last night. She smiled because really if she had any idea that he had been so talented in between the sheets…well yes she did but not first hand and she didn't think she'd ever have that chance to find out.

"Okay, well maybe we can start talking about it," she said, "But we got to get our new place first and fix it up and get the garden started."

He raised his hand.

"Now hold on there," he said, "You're making me tired just listening to you."

"Houston, it's not going to get done by itself," she said, "and I need to feel like I have my home ready before any new additions come along."

"Fair enough," he said, "We can hire a contractor."

She just looked at him making plans for their future when she couldn't look past the latest threat to their safety. And would it be a great idea to bring children into a situation that could be dangerous to them?

What kind of world were they going to create for the next generation of Houstons? She just watched him finish his breakfast and knew she wanted everything with him but they had to get through this crisis first. Then they could find some place quiet to sit down and work everything out between them and find the path they wished to take together.

But as it turned out life had other plans.


	22. Chapter 22

The car they borrowed broke down before reaching L.A. and left them standing on the side of Highway 1 in case anyone just happened to be driving by. They still had some minutes on their phones so Matt called for help. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle which experience taught him meant they had to keep a look out for Dmitri or his men.

So when someone pulled over in a car and offered them a ride to the nearest town, Santa Barbara they took it. Matt called Roy and told him they might be running late. His uncle told him not to worry about it. That the items they needed would be waiting at the place in Venice Beach when they arrived. The man driving the truck asked them where they wanted to be dropped off and Matt remembered this winery that had been owned by one of his father's friends.

The man drove his truck just outside the city limits, twisting and turning on a double lane road lined with trees that loomed with tall leafy branches.

"Looks beautiful," C.J. said as she looked out the window.

"Yeah my father served with this guy in the military but I think he's passed on now," Matt said, "but his oldest son runs the place now."

They arrived and parked in the front of a Spanish style building and got what luggage they had out of it before saying goodbye to the Good Samaritan and walking up the walkway to the house.

A tall man with dark hair and a linebacker's build opened the door and his eyes widened when he saw the two of them. He introduced himself as Logan and they shook his hand.

"So your car broke down," he said, "Well there's plenty of room for you here. Sandra's out supervising the harvesting so I can get some paperwork on orders filled here."

They walked into his stylishly decorated home that combined both the masculine with the feminine and C.J. examined some of the many photos on the walls, finding some of Matt's father with another man. Logan smiled.

"That's Bill and my father after he signed the deed on the property."

"You've really done well with it from what I've been reading," Matt said, "Your daddy would be proud."

"I hadn't heard about the two of you getting hitched," Logan said, "When did this happen?"

Matt and C.J. looked at each other.

"Not long ago," Matt said, "The little lady finally roped me in."

C.J. gave him a playful slap on the arm.

"Houston you were the one who wanted to make a respectable woman out of me."

Logan looked at them bemused.

"Well whatever it took to get both of you to come to your senses as my father would say," he said, "Bill wondered if the two of you would ever get it together."

C.J. hooked her arm in Matt's.

"I guess we finally did," she said, "because we couldn't be happier."

Logan smiled again.

"We'll I think Sandra's got one of the guest bedrooms always ready for company in the back," he said,

Matt and C.J. followed him to the bedroom and it was indeed spacious and the window looked straight out into rows and rows of grapevines. Beautiful in their symmetry and in the wine they would someday make. C.J. sat on the bed while Matt called the towing company who said that the car needed a new part and would be ready in the morning.

"How you doing," he asked.

"A little tired," she said, "I might take a nap before dinner but I want to see the vineyard first."

"We're going to get back to L.A.," he said, "This is just a little road bump in our plan."

She nodded.

"I know…I just hope that Roy and Will and the others are safe," she said, "If Dmitri went after them to get at us…"

Matt closed his eyes hoping they had guarded as well as they could against that. Roy and Hoyt would handle it well on their end and she knew that like him, C.J. had faith in them to do that. But like him, she just wanted to put this nightmare behind him and settle back into their lives.

Not that marriage wouldn't hand them its own challenges but he looked forward to them. He knew that C.J. despite her misgivings did too.

Logan met up with Sandra in the courtyard and together, they gave Matt and C.J. an amazing tour of their operation. The layout was both breathtaking in how the landscape unfolded as well as practical. They saw every step of the operation and gained a new appreciation for the tasty wine that filled their glasses. As they headed back to the house, the sun began to cascade the vineyard with its warmth.

"You thinking about opening up one yourself," she asked him.

"He's done an amazing job with it," Matt said, "It's a beautiful place."

They returned to the bedroom and she looked at him.

"I think I'm going to take that nap," she said, "I'm a little tired."

He nodded.

"You want company?"

She looked a little preoccupied but after brushing some hair out of her face, she looked at him and nodded.

So they lay on the bed and he wrapped his arms around her and she closed her eyes.

"It's been a bit hectic the past couple of weeks."

She chuckled softly.

"You think? But we're going to get to the end of this Houston. We've got to put Dmitri behind bars for good this time."

He kissed the back of her neck.

"We will and then we can go looking for our place."

"Yeah that's going to be great," she said, drifting off.

Matt kept her close to him as her body relaxed and she fell asleep. It had been a tough time for the both of them constantly on the go since the car accident that nearly killed them both. But he wouldn't want to be with anyone else, he just hoped they could spend time together that wasn't so frantic, and knew he'd work his damnedest to make sure they reached that point together.

C.J. woke up later still in his embrace, and felt his soft breath caressing her neck. He must have been tired enough to follow her into slumber. She settled into his warmth not eager to wake him. He'd been through the gauntlet nearly dying in the accident and then having to outrun the assassins who came to finish their job in the hospital when he should have been resting. Her own muscles felt tight and she had been so tired though the nap had refreshed her a bit for dinner. She just felt as if it had caught up to her.

But then her own body must be quite stressed out from everything that had happened, that must be why…but she closed her eyes instead not able to think about anything but his arms around her.

* * *

Sandra had put out an impressive spread for them while Logan had cooked the steaks. The food was delicious, C.J. thought and she found her appetite quite hearty. But when she sipped the wine, she felt a little queasy so she drank some water instead.

"Your father put some money up on this winery so if you ever want to be a partner," Logan started.

Matt thought about it while slicing another piece off the steak.

"You've done so well with it," he said, "that's considered payment enough."

Logan smiled.

"It's too bad you missed meeting the kids," he said, "but they're away at their other grandparents."

C.J.'s brows rose.

"How many do you have?"

Sandra beamed.

"Three, two sons and a daughter born a couple years ago," she said, "They're just across town by the beach."

"That's nice…"

Sandra sipped her wine.

"How about you," she said, "You got any kids?"

Both Matt and C.J. shook their heads.

"Definitely thinking about it," Matt said, "I want a baseball team, she's thinking about it."

C.J. smiled.

"I definitely want them," she said, "but we might have to compromise."

Sandra rolled her eyes.

"Isn't that the truth," she said, "Logan here wanted six but well, maybe one more."

Logan nodded.

"She told me if I wanted anymore, I would have to start having them."

C.J. suppressed a chuckle and then looked over at Matt.

"See…there's one possible solution."

He stroked her back with a hand which felt good but then she'd always loved his hands and how they could make her feel.

"So you leave tomorrow to head home?"

Matt looked over at his wife.

"We've got to get back to work," he said, "Settle on a place to live. We're looking to buy property."

Logan nodded.

"You should do that," he said, "City's no place to raise a family."

* * *

C.J. thought about that later as she lay back in bed, with Matt. The both of them had been raised in the rural corner of Texas on neighboring ranches. They both deeply appreciated their backgrounds especially after moving to the bustle and hustle of L.A. Not a bad place to operate a business or two at all but they both needed some place to retreat afterward that made sense when everything else got so topsy turvy as she often put it.

"They really built a life for themselves here," she said, as Matt elicited these amazing sensations from her while stroking her arm.

"Yeah they did," he agreed, "I'd like to do the same thing, only with horses."

She smiled because Matt's love affair with the animals had gone back to childhood. They had spent hours riding for pleasure even outside of ranching, in the foothills surrounding the valley where they both grew up.

"That sounds wonderful," she said, "I'd love our children to grow up in the saddle."

He continued talking, painting this glorious picture of what their lives could be like together. But she still thought of the danger that surely awaited them in L.A. that existed between them and their dreams. But she didn't want to tell him that because just the sound of his voice when he described what their ranch would look like, had drawn her into his fantasy.

And as she lay in his arms, she found herself desperately wanting it too. But outside in the world out there, danger lurked…as a vengeful crime lord plotted and waited.


	23. Chapter 23

C.J. looked over at her husband where he slept next to her. She couldn't blame him for not being awake as they'd been up most of the night together, wrapped up in each other's arms and forgetting about everything else for a while.

His hair tousled, his face showing shadow, his arm wrapped around a pillow. She just watched him sleep.

So many memories flooded inside her head just then. Some back to the days when they were little kids, meeting up on the playground and at birthday parties. They hadn't hit it off right away because they stuck to their own groups of friends, segregated by gender back in elementary school. But somehow perhaps because they lived on neighboring ranches, they somehow became friends. Working alongside each other even as children, they had lowered their own defenses. He about a terrifying abduction when he'd been a little boy and she, about the loss of her parents, those experiences had brought them together during the quieter times.

Their friendship had only grown richer as they grew older though sometimes it had been tough because Matt had grown from arms and legs as a kid to someone whose body had been honed by working the ranch and through his pursuit of glory on the football field. So many times, she had to smile quietly while her friends from school including Julie raved about how fine he looked. He was her best friend after all, and when they'd both been adults and their lives had pulled them on different paths with him going into the military and her law school, when they had reunited, it had been at a party held by his father at the ranch.

Matt had been struggling to come to terms with the loss of his cousin Will and his father had thought a Texas style barbecue would cheer him up. So he had conspired with others including Cattle Annie to put on the shindig. And for a couple of hours, he'd been in the spirit of it joining in an impromptu rodeo and a touch football game. But then the feelings he had about what happened to his cousin had surfaced and he walked away from the party.

C.J. had gone looking for him later and she'd found him in the barn stroking his old gelding. She'd gone over to join him and they'd just stood there together silently for a while, not needing to say anything at least not with words. She had known how much his cousin's death had torn him up. He was at a bit of odds to know what to do with his life and she still had another year of law school. She had slid her hand up his back and hugged him to her without saying anything.

Heading out to California had been a natural progression of wanting to create something by themselves, a business apart from where they had come from and they had built first the empire and then the investigative firm. The latter had proven to be time consuming and in some cases, dangerous but they loved their work. She couldn't imagine doing anything else.

But what she had done was gotten married to him and she loved every moment of it. Well, maybe not the reality of living on the run and being one step of the man pursuing them. Moments like this one she did savor, and she knew she'd remember them forever no matter what happened.

"How long you've been awake?"

She smiled over at him, tucking the sheet around her.

"Just a little while…"

He lifted himself up on his elbow to look at her and he sure looked fine when he did that.

"Are you hungry?"

She considered that and thought maybe in a little bit. Maybe she was feeling the food from last night which had been very filling.

"Maybe later…I don't want to go anywhere right now."

He stroked her face, before kissing her. She reached with a hand to touch him

"I was just thinking," she said, "about when we were younger back in Texas. Everything that happened there, that we went through."

Matt sank back on the bed next to her.

"Yeah…we certainly did have some times," he said, "You want to go back there?"

"Maybe to visit," she said, "California's home but I'd like to drop in on the old ranch and see how Bo and Lamar are doing."

"Maybe we can talk them into moving back out to California to work on our new ranch."

C.J. thought that sounded like a grand idea but she didn't know whether the two hands would go for it. They had headed back not long after that explosive birthday party. She'd missed them just as she had Slim, Charlie Eagle and other long-time friends who had once lived in L.A. but had moved on where their lives had taken them.

"That'd be nice," she said, "I miss their chili."

Matt chuckled.

"I don't know if Murray would say that," he said, "Remember how horrified he was when he learned about their recipe?"

C.J. nodded.

"Yeah but I remember what it was like to grow up with them," she said, "The stories they used to tell us…"

"Some of them were rather tall."

She smiled at that observation, but they sure had been entertaining. But she remembered that tradition they'd had of stories being told around the campfire after they'd ridden horseback all the way through the foothills to the hidden valley in between them.

The adventures she and Matt had as young kids, growing up in the best place in the world.

"I want my children to have those same experiences growing up."

He wrapped his arm around her.

"Our children…and they will."

She smiled at that, because she had envisioned what it'd be like to walk down that road with the man next to her. So most of the years she had known them it had been a carefully kept fantasy she had of a life she was sure she'd never experience. At least not with him, because they had never ever talked about taking their friendship further into romance let alone committing to a relationship or marriage.

"Houston…that's a big step don't you think?"

"Yeah but we both want the same things," he said, "and we're going to get through this crisis."

Yeah she figured they would, hopefully with their lives intact. Then again, if they hadn't agreed to help the feds with this case, they wouldn't be married.

"So is Roy going to meet us?"

"Yeah…we should be there later today barring any transpiration problems."

"It's been an interesting journey," she noted, snuggling closer to him.

"Best honeymoon I ever had…"

She narrowed her eyes looking at him.

"How many have you been on Mr. Houston?"

Those eyebrows of his waggled again.

"Only one that's memorable."

She rolled her eyes at him but when his mouth brushed against hers, so sweet, she forgot all about that.

And most everything else as well.

The things that man could do with his lips, soft and seductive kisses like butterfly wings and then when he deepened them, it sent sensations curling inside her that were so exciting. His hands reached under the sheets for her breasts and he caressed them as his possession of her mouth continued unabated.

Like she was going to stop him…but…she winced.

"What's wrong," he said.

"I don't know, they get tender at this time…"

He kissed her softly on the mouth and then stroked it with a fingertip in a way filled with promise.

"I'll be gentle…"

And that's when he moved underneath the sheet with his mouth and started doing amazing things to them with his mouth, all gentle. She gripped the bed sheet in her hands as he lavished attention on them. Stroking around the pink areoles with his tongue in ways most delightfully sinful…totally so because a part of her still couldn't imagine them in bed together.

Mercifully that part had grown smaller over time.

"Oh…."

He had just inhaled one of her nipples inside his mouth, playing with it, gently but in ways that shot right through her, overwhelming her senses.

"Houston…"

"Mmmm….I'm busy here…"

She could feel that but they really had to think about getting ready to leave the winery and head back to rendezvous in L.A. with the others. But with Matt mouthing her like…oh…it was hard to keep focused on their plan.

Finally the guy had some mercy and popped his head to look at her, his eyes looking into hers just before he kissed her mouth again. She wrapped her arms tightly around him as he positioned himself on top of her, with nothing between them. He reached for the nightstand.

"Houston…don't tell me we've run out."

He gazed at her his eye lids hooded.

"Oh no…I bought plenty to at least get us back to L.A."

He kissed her shoulder, her neck…sending shivers through her, then his hand reached again.

"Got one…we're in business."

She arched a brow at him.

"Is that how you see it?"

Matt handed the package to her.

"Will you do the honors?"

Oh she just wanted to roll her eyes at him when he acted like that, but he just looked too damn sexy right now and she wanted him. Not that she needed any excuse to handle any part of him so watching him carefully, she sheathed him up and then she pulled him closer to her again as they became one.

They lay in each other's arms kissing each other as they both floated back down to earth because every time they came together, it had proven to be so intense. Too much so she thought sometimes because they had so much to make up for having waited so long to get to this point.

"I love you Houston…"

He answered by kissing her on the mouth and stroking her hair.

"I love you…and this is all going to work out."

She nodded and settled in against his chest. They really should be thinking about getting up, getting ready and heading on out to hit the road back to L.A. But somehow, she found herself unable to move or to leave him. She felt so emotional, her eyes stung and she took a deep breath. Everything just had been so intense since this all started at the altar of their wedding, and it had been ramping up since. All she wanted to do was to settle down for a few moments, take a break from all this madness and just focus on their relationship. She knew that he meant what he had said about loving her and wanting to make it work, her heart swelled at the thought. But they had to survive Dmitri's vendetta and bring him to justice before they could return to their lives.

Now however they had a few moments to spend together before they had to leave. So she planned to enjoy it and worry about the rest of it later.

That and the fact that she'd been doing some counting in her head and discovered she was late.


	24. Chapter 24

Roy and Hoyt were waiting at the hideout in Venice Beach when Matt and C.J. arrived. They had the living room set up where they had hooked up a computer and a printer, not to mention other office equipment. After the long drive, Matt had hoped to make greater use of the flat screen TV on the wall to kick back on the couch with some takeout food and his wife.

But he knew they had work to do.

Still he was hungry and was going to head into the kitchen to see what could be whipped up in a flash. Roy looked up at him.

"Oh the others went out for some pizza," he said, "You know that place in Santa Monica."

Matt sighed, taking it all in, thinking that might hit the spot. He looked over at C.J. and she nodded.

"That sounds great," she said, "It's not Mama's but it'll do just fine."

C.J. had always been loyal to Mama's great cooking even when she sold the restaurant and took off to Hawaii with her son Vince and his family after he took that stress retirement from the LAPD. She felt pretty hungry after that long haul they had pulled on Highway 101 the last several hours.

She settled onto the couch and Matt sat next to her. Now she thought the place looked a little bit too crowded full of people but she knew they had work to do and that her friends were there to help them.

Matt leaned forward.

"Okay what do we got here?"

Roy looked over at Hoyt who just reached for his antacids.

"Dmitri's been spotted around Chinatown," he said, "He's after some local muscle."

Matt frowned.

"He won't find very much after the feds busted the Triad which owned that area a couple of years back before…"

C.J. swallowed a lump in her throat, remembering what had happened back then, beginning when her close friend Connie Ling had called her up. Mix up a ton of heroin caught between the ruling Triad and a crooked DEA agent and it all turned out to be a real mess. Connie got murdered, she got shot and Matt came close to pulverizing the agent when he finally caught up with him. Hoyt hadn't been assigned to that division of the LAPD that long, so he hadn't known Matt yet that well, but he learned a case lesson in his loyalty towards his close friends and family.

It wasn't one he'd quickly forget and Matt had extended that close circle of friends to include the cynical lieutenant, saving his life and that of his family members a time or two.

Not that the two men didn't clash from time to time on how best to conduct an investigation of a particularly challenging case but they respected each other.

Hoyt sighed looking up at Matt right now.

"He's been seen at a couple of hot spots talking up some known heavy hitters who are looking for work."

Matt digested that, knowing that if Dmitri was successful, that could make life very dangerous for C.J. and him in L.A. and possibly elsewhere as well. Not that they hadn't already been given a lesson plan in that. C.J. looked back at him, her eyes serious as well.

"Dmitri won't be able to form an alliance with any of the Chinese triads," Roy said, "Unless he agrees to help them get firepower against the Mexican Mafia."

Matt nodded somberly. Times had changed in the City of the Angels, with MM running the drug trades in many southern cities, masterminding much of their operation from inside the state's maximum security prisons. But he doubted Dmitri would go for that unless he became truly desperate.

And Matt guessed he still remained far from that…at least for now.

"We'll just have to see how badly he wants to get at us."

Roy sighed.

"Pretty badly….we think some of his lieutenants have been staking out the office building."

Just then the door opened and in came Murray and Chris carrying a stack of pizza boxes, C.J. guessed in just about every combination since they all had their own eclectic tastes. Chris smiled when she saw them.

"Hey long time no see…"

She put the boxes down and embraced her friends.

"Not that we expected to see you," she said, "since you were both on your honeymoon."

C.J. looked over at Matt.

"Yeah well, we had some excitement along the way that wasn't quite planned."

Chris nodded and they started in on the pizza right away. Murray and Chris went to get some soda and napkins from the kitchen. C.J. picked out some slices of her favorite mix of peppers, mushrooms and meats. Matt had ordered a barbecue pizza for himself but thought he might try some of hers if she ever let him close enough.

He watched her eat, including when she licked some tomato sauce off of her finger which nearly made his heart stop. He loved watching her do most anything and he knew that the motley crew here had work to do but he was looking forward to ushering them out at some point and spending some time alone with his wife. Judging from the look on her face when she glanced at him occasionally, great minds thought alike.

* * *

Chris and C.J. cleaned up in the kitchen while the men continued to plot strategy in the living room after deciding to try out the flat screen TV and catch some baseball. Chris had just picked up the boxes of leftovers of which there wasn't much and had shaken her head. C.J. knew what her friend was thinking, that it was so typical for the men to plop in the living room relaxing or doing guy things while the women did the work.

But C.J. found herself needing the relative quiet of the kitchen. The pizza had done wonders to help her feel better but she needed to do some thinking outside of the current crisis involving Dmitri.

Maybe Chris could help her with that. Chris had gone into the frig and found a bottle of wine set to chill for god knows how long and decided to try it. She found some glasses but C.J. nixed on the wine. She just didn't feel like drinking anything harder than the soda.

Chris swigged some back and then rummaged around for the liquid soap to help with washing some of the glasses while C.J. put the remaining slices of pizza in one carton and put it in the refrigerator.

"I think Murray's so hot."

C.J. blinked and looked up at her friend who looked serious about what she had just confessed.

"What do you mean hot?"

Chris threw her a pointed look and C.J. got it.

"Oh you mean that kind of hot."

Chris nodded happily.

"You know he set me up once on a blind date with his brother Myron but all the time we were at the opera all I could think of was Murray."

C.J. heard the affection in Chris' voice along with the wanting and knew her friend wanted to talk. Yes, they might have a life or death situation involving Dmitri and his growing army of thugs but that didn't mean they couldn't take the time for serious girl talk.

And she needed that too.

"So are you…he…"

Chris shook her head while soaping up a glass.

"I wish…but he's kind of…well keeping me at arm's length like in the car after we got the pizza."

C.J. smiled.

"Maybe he's just a little shy."

Chris shrugged.

"I made a move on him and he almost looked shocked. He got that cute little expression on his face where his eyes widen behind his glasses and his mouth just kind of drops."

C.J. knew it well. After all, Matt and she had known the former CPA for some years.

"How did you and Matt get it on," Chris asked, "I mean you two were dancing around each other for years."

C.J. didn't know how to respond to that exactly because it was pretty complicated. She still really hadn't figured it out but there had been a catalyst.

"Well, we got married."

"Well yeah, sure you did for a case," Chris said, "But I don't think that's going to work with Murray. We're not investigators…well not most of the time."

C.J. smiled at that because Chris and Murray had been brought into their line of work in ways not exactly included in their original job descriptions but Matt and she both owed them so much. The twice annual bonuses paid out to them didn't begin to cover it.

"It all seemed simple at the time," C.J. said, "Until after the case, when we were set to head to Reno on the jet to get the marriage annulled. You know you can only do that…"

Chris nodded.

"I know only if you don't do the horizontal mambo."

C.J. arched a brow at her but continued.

"Well we almost made it but we got delayed…"

Chris nodded.

"Because you were doing other things right…and not all of them horizontal…?"

C.J. swallowed and nodded.

"Well no….some were…never mind, anyway suffice it to say, it's impossible to get the marriage annulled now."

Chris grinned.

"It'd be stupid to end it anyway," she said, "You two belong together. You'd drive anyone else crazy."

C.J. couldn't exactly launch an effective counterargument to Chris' rationale on the subject because yes, she was beginning to realize they really did belong together. And maybe they could make it work if they survived Dmitri's vendetta, got him locked up much tighter this time and…

"Chris I need you to do a favor for me."

"You tell me how to get Murray horizontal…just kidding, okay what do you need?"

C.J fidgeted with her hands.

"I need you to do an errand for me if I'm going to be holed up here," she said, "I need you to get something for me."

Chris nodded.

"Okay what do you need?"

C.J. paused.

"A…test."

Chris frowned.

"What kind…aren't you done with school…?"

C.J. just looked at her pointedly and it dawned on her friend suddenly.

"Oh…that kind of test," Chris said, "You mean they don't sell them online like at Amazon or something?"

C.J. sighed. She hadn't really checked though she had thought about it. This way just sounded much easier…and quicker. Chris' eyes widened.

"I know I shouldn't ask this but weren't you two using?"

C.J. nodded.

"Oh yes…I'm on the pill, but had to stop when I left them in the wrecked car. But I'm sure it's all about nothing."

Chris narrowed her eyes.

"How late are you?"

"Not that much…a few days…"

Chris shrugged.

"Then it could be all that's happening that's knocking you through a loop but what does Matt think about all this?"

C.J. took a deep breath and exhaled it through pursed lips.

"He doesn't know…really he's got enough on his plate to worry about nothing."

Chris nodded.

"Got you…okay I can bring it back later tonight and drop it in the mailbox if you're not up."

C.J. considered that but maybe…

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to disguise it so no one will suspect," Chris assured her.

C.J. nodded thinking that might work. Not that she expected anything to come of it but she just wanted one less thing to worry about now.

"I might need more than one test," she said, "What if the first one's defective?"

Chris smiled.

"I'll have that all covered."

* * *

Matt's mind wandered during the impromptu male bonding episode to think about how much he'd rather spending time alone with his wife. The words he would whisper in her ear to get her out of that pair of jeans she wore that flattered her figure. He wished not for the first time that they could get this whole mess behind them and focus on married living.

Never a dull moment in their lives and that would pass on over to marriage but all he could think of was wrapping his arms around her for some good loving and then lying together afterward talking about their future. Building a life on the new spread they would purchase outside the city and filling it with animals and kids.

"Houston, you think they're going to go extra innings?"

"They better not," Matt said, "Because I don't want to keep C.J waiting too long."

Roy and Hoyt exchanged a look and a smile.

"Ah newlyweds," his uncle said.

Murray brightened up.

"Hey big guy, just keep it all together because your marriage has been great for stock futures."

Matt cleared his throat.

"Murray, we're planning to keep our personal life away from business."

His corporate president snorted as if not believing that was possible and Hoyt just slapped him on the shoulder.

"We'd better get a move on and give this couple their privacy," Hoyt said, standing up.

The others joined him and after Chris walked from the kitchen with C.J., they all said their goodbyes and Matt and C.J. saw their guests out to their cars. Afterward, Matt wrapped his arm around C.J.'s waist and they walked back into the beach house, grateful for their friends' help but overjoyed to finally be alone together.


	25. Chapter 25

C.J. lay back in bed, watching the moonlight spill into the room through the slats in the blinds. Matt lay next to her, the sheet up to his waist and he occasionally moved in his slumber. He'd been asleep for a while, while they had been ironing some logistics during their alone time until he started nodding off.

She felt sleepy but wired at the same time, listening to the faint sounds of early morning traffic. Venice beach had an active party life so it had only started to unwind after midnight when people began to wander home. She and Matt had mainly spent time in this neighborhood when working on a case or two, mostly based on the nearby marina.

Back when they'd been single. He had been seeing a line of women with first names and she had gone into her relationships more tentatively than the man next to her. She never had found it quite as easy to strike them up as he had and she envied him that at least part of the time. His heart had been broken, his life in danger a time or two, he'd lost fiancés to killers and to his own lifestyle but he never stopped seeking out further relationships.

They had that in common but went about it in different ways.

She'd envied his ease at doing that because after losing Carl to her psycho stalker she had struggled with her grief. And the situation with Robert had caused her a whole different type of it but she'd gotten through it. Matt had been the constant in her life when she had needed him just as she had been for him.

Their friendship had existed longer than their marriage but the life they had shared since had been sweet. Even as they had been on the run from one chaotic moment to the next, they had built something special along the way.

She heard her phone vibrating on the stand next to her side of the bed. She gazed over at Matt who remained asleep. After reaching for her phone, she saw that Chris had texted her to look outside the front door…which meant that her friend had gone on that errand for her. She glanced at Matt again before climbing out of bed and grabbing one of his shirts to slip into before walking to the door. She hoped it was Chris and not some kind of ruse to trap her given that she was dressed in her husband's shirt and panties but damn, she really needed those tests.

Opening the door carefully, she gazed down at the welcome mat and sure enough she found an unidentified bag and picked it up. Inside were six different tests, different brands and next to it, about a pound of rich dark chocolate. A small card sat in the bottom of the bag and after plucking it out, she opened it up. Just a few words jotted in a rush by Chris about what to do and that the pound of chocolate, she would most definitely need afterward.

C.J. shook her head as she tucked the bag back closed and walked back to the bedroom. She looked at her watch and decided if dawn was only a couple hours away, she'd have to wait until she could get up and lock herself in the bathroom if necessary while taking the damn tests. She opened up one and read the instructions which sounded too complicated but then it was a test that could alter a person's life forever. Still, her law degree from Harvard didn't help her much while she tried to figure out what test to do first. Should she list them in alphabetical order, or was there some natural progression?

It hurt too much to do this much thinking this early in the morning so she tucked her bag with her things and then crept back into bed quietly. She hated keeping anything from him especially something this important. But she knew how important it would be for his focus to remain on the apprehension of Dmitri before he could get them. That's what she told herself quietly as she felt his arms wrap around her even in sleep drawing her closer to his warmth. She loved him so much, the idea of it tugged inside her so deeply, her eyes stung. Closing her eyes, snuggling into him, she fell asleep again.

Damn, she hopped out of bed, nearly tripping over her shoes or his shoes while she grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom. Matt still remained asleep, he had been softly snoring when she had woken up. She closed the door quietly behind her and after pulling the tests out of the bag and onto the throw rug, she got to work. First she had to provide the ahem, samples of the test. Now both Chris and the multi-paged, multi-language instructions had made it clear it had to be the first…output of the day. Somehow she managed that with at least four of the tests and that would have to do for now.

But oh, the waiting, and the figuring out how each one was color coded or would otherwise indicate whether during one of those days or nights they had spent together in each other's arms had led to conception. She had brought her phone with her in case of emergency consultation.

It didn't take her long to get on the line with Chris first. Her friend sounded groggy and asked her what time it was.

"It's six…okay maybe five but I couldn't sleep any longer," C.J. said, "So I'm running the tests."

"Okay…you know you have to wait a little while for the results to show up," Chris advised, "Call me back when you get them."

"Chris…I mixed up some of the instructions with the tests and I'm not sure I have them matched up right."

Chris sighed deeply.

"You're a trained lawyer and you don't know how to read a pregnancy test? Well, it might help you to know that all of them will display that you're pregnant or not, only the colors will be different…oh and they might do the plus or minus…then there's one test that gives a thumbs up or a thumbs down."

C.J.'s head spun. How had such tests grown even more complicated in the past five minutes?

"Okay…well thanks…I'll call you later."

She clicked off her phone and then punched in another number.

"C.J. is that you?"

"Yeah Carol...is it too early to call?"

"No…not really," Carol said, "I keep doctor's hours remember…what have you been up to…I heard you got married."

"Yeah to Houston….anyway, we've been traveling and well, I had a question about one of those tests."

"What tests….oh, I see what you mean," Carol said, "You and Houston aren't wasting anytime are you? What do you need to know?"

C.J. picked up one of the testing devices she had lain out in a row on the floor.

"These tests are pretty accurate right," she said, "They have a low failure."

"Yes, if they're done properly, it's very low," Carol said, "similar to our own tests."

C.J.'s eyes widened as she picked up the second stick and read it, before reaching to the next one.

"So if three of them say the same result, then that's accurate?"

Carol sighed impatiently.

"C.J., just tell me what the damn tests say," she said, "I'm a doctor after all."

"Well…."

She suddenly heard footsteps outside the bathroom door and knew that Matt had gotten out of bed even before he rapped on the door.

"C.J. are you in there…?"

She put the phone aside.

"Yeah…I might be a minute," she said, "I'm busy."

"Can't you open the door," he asked, "We are married after all."

She bit her lip thinking about it and then looking at the tests on the floor.

"In a minute hon..."

He walked away as if he left the room. After it grew quiet again, she looked at the tests and then she looked at the bag containing the pound of chocolate. Chris had been right, she would most definitely need it.

Then she remembered Carol.

"Are you still there?"

"Yeah…I'm out of bed and in the kitchen brewing some coffee before I get ready to head to the clinic."

"I…the tests, they all say the same thing," C.J. said, "Some say it in pink, some blue and one in what looks like neon purple but I'm…"

"You're what?"

C.J. couldn't even say the words. They were just too huge.

"C.J…earth to…"

"Oh I'm still here…I'm also pregnant."

There she said it, what each and every test had read once she had decoded their unique scoring systems. Somehow she and Matt had managed to create a new life while…wait she'd been using the pill when this probably happened.

"I can't be..I was on the pill."

Carol chuckled.

"Oh nothing's foolproof," she said, "I've collected quite a few 'but I was on the pill' stories in my years. Congratulations, this is great news right?"

C.J. sighed, looking back at her tests.

"Yeah I think so…but the timing…things are really hectic right now."

"Ah yes, but it's always the case with newlyweds," Carol said, "It'll sort itself out."

C.J. bit her tongue, not able to detail any of the particulars as to why it just wasn't the best time to be pregnant. But she couldn't deny that the news made her happy, almost giddy. If only…

She heard the footsteps return in the room.

"C.J. you still in there," he said, "You sure you're okay?"

She said goodbye to Carol and started scooping up the tests.

"I'm fine…I'm sorry I locked you out."

"That's okay…listen I made some omelets with what I could find," he said, "They smell pretty good."

She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"I'm sure they're great…I'll be out in a minute."

Damn, she thought, she really needed to tell him but with everything that had been going on since they got busy, if she told him now it'd affect his decision making as far as she was concerned. He needed her to work with him and his instinct might be to place her in bubble wrap while he ran around putting himself in greater danger.

No, that wasn't going to happen because she'd wait until things had quieted down before giving him the news.

Yes, that would be a plan that would have to work, she thought as she headed to the kitchen to eat the breakfast he had prepared, wearing a smile on her face.


	26. Chapter 26

She looked at him the entire time she ate the omelet that he had cooked for her. The man who had become her husband and when they had shot their annulment all to hell, the father of her baby.

Well when it would be born anyway, which would be…oh about seven and a half months from now give or take a week. That meant she had some time to prepare for the reality that she would be a mother but with both the baby's parents lives in danger right now, she didn't know what the future held.

But she already couldn't wait to meet her baby, but how would Matt feel about it? She bit her lip as she looked across at him sipping his coffee and finishing up his own breakfast. They were back in L.A. where Dmitri could be waiting to confront them to enact his revenge against them. She wasn't about to let that happen not when a new life depended on her and Matt but she hedged about whether or not to share her news. After all, the words, "bubble wrap" kept coming into mind when she didn't want them to, because after all, if he got preoccupied with trying to protect her and the baby, he'd put his own life at greater risk.

And losing him to the ire of Dmitri wasn't an option.

Carol had urged her to go get a doctor to examine her to confirm the pregnancy and put her on a health plan, but C.J. knew she couldn't do that right now. Any exposure out in public that wasn't absolutely necessary would put them all in danger. They still needed to hear back from their friends and family who were trying to help them end this nightmare.

"You want some more eggs," he asked.

She shook her head.

"No, this is quite enough and very good."

He smiled and she knew that he couldn't pass up a chance to practice cooking especially in his perfection of his omelets. God, she wished this was just a normal morning with them being a married couple enjoying a tasty breakfast before starting a more or less typical work day. Maybe they'd split up the daily paper while they read it and talk about their plans at the end of the day.

They'd never had that in their marriage but then again it wasn't supposed to be anything but a professional arrangement between them to last enough to conclude the investigation of the island resort. Instead, they had to face off with crime lord, Dmitri after he ambushed them. But then again when they got away from him and then ended up in that hotel in San Francisco, one thing had led to another so they couldn't go to Reno and annul their marriage. Then they had that deal where they stayed married for 30 days. But that had been before their lives had been consumed with staying one step ahead of Dmitri's hired men and now…she found out she'd somehow found time in all this chaos to get pregnant.

She looked at him finishing up his meal and didn't know how she could not tell him but then again, if he knew he'd spend all his time worrying about her and the baby. And he'd become too distracted to keep himself safe. If she lost him, she'd not be able to cope with that.

So maybe she should just wait a little while. She sipped her juice.

"What's on the schedule for today?"

"Uncle Roy and Chris will be coming over here soon," Matt said, "We're going to try to sneak into the online banking accounts traced to Dmitri."

"You mean hack don't you?"

He nodded, conceding that but then again, between the two of them, she was way more proficient with computers. She began to clear the plates.

"Guess we'd better get showered and ready."

He gave her a devilish look and she chuckled at him.

"No thank Cowboy, if I don't take this shower by myself, we'll still be there when the others arrive."

Judging by the look in his eyes, she knew he could think of worse things than that but he let her off the hook for now.

"I'll take a rain check then."

She nodded at him with a smile and then took the dishes in the kitchen to rinse them.

Chris wanted to know all about the pregnancy tests as soon as they left the men alone to tool with the computer. She'd be doing her part of that once Roy and Matt set the system up.

"So what's the verdict?"

C.J. looked at her friend and felt a little guilty spilling to her when she hadn't even told Matt yet.

"Well, are we going to have to build a nursery at the office?"

C.J. just looked pointedly at Chris as they stood inside the kitchen while C.J. poured them some iced tea.

"According to the tests, I'm pregnant."

Chris widened her eyes and just put a hand over her mouth.

"You…and Matt oh my god..."

C.J. raised a brow.

"Is it really all that surprising?"

"Well…yeah, I mean you two were always close friends but platonic friends and it's a little hard to get pregnant that way."

"I know that," C.J. said, "but our resolve to keep our marriage in name only kind of faded when we were alone in the hotel suite."

Chris grinned.

"How was he anyway?"

C.J. put one hand on a hip.

"I'm not going to tell you," she said, "I don't kiss and tell though we did do a lot of kissing."

Chris chuckled.

"And a lot of something else," she said, "I just always wondered if you two would ever get it on and I guess that question's been answered."

C.J. couldn't argue with that so she didn't bother but she didn't want anyone else to know so she told Chris not to reveal her news to anyone.

"Okay I promise," Chris said, "but you can't keep Matt in the dark about it. He's going to want to know."

"I know but if he knows now, all he'll be thinking about is how to protect me and the baby even if it means wrapping us in bubble wrap or duct tape."

Chris wrinkled her nose.

"I don't know…seems a bit kinky for him," she said, "Sure he'll be concerned but he's always like that."

True perhaps but her being pregnant would up the ante and she couldn't afford him being off of his game even slightly because he was worried about her.

"Look I'll tell him when it's safer and eventually he'll forgive me."

She hadn't heard the footsteps behind her but she did hear the voice.

"Forgive you about what C.J.?"

She turned her head and saw Matt standing there looking his usually sexy self though perplexed as well. She ran a hand through her hair.

"Oh nothing…except for what happened with our marriage."

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her neck. God, she loved that, first the tickle of his mustache and then the caressing of her soft skin with his mouth. He could have her horizontal fast if he kept doing that but she had to stick to the business at hand.

"Nothing to be sorry about," he said, "though I think the 30 days deal is a bit ridiculous since it's passed."

"Oh it has…I didn't notice."

He kissed her again.

"Been pretty busy doing all kinds of things," he said.

She smiled and her skin tingled from the attention he gave to it and a part of her wanted to shoo Roy and Chris out the door so that they could spend the afternoon alone together.

Maybe then she'd tell him about the pregnancy.

"Roy's got it all set up," Matt said, "We'd better get started."

She nodded, all business now and they all went to the living room to start hacking into the banking systems where Dmitri supposedly kept his accounts.

"Roy had a contact from the old days that gave him some account numbers to look up," Matt said, "Turned out that this Dmitri guy's been active for years and before him, is father."

Roy nodded.

"Yes his daddy was a covert operative working for the company like I did only he turned traitor for the money."

Matt scratched the back of his neck, watching C.J. at work, her fingers flowing over the keyboard as she entered the data. Truly an expert in this area, he marveled at how quickly she brought up information on the screen.

"Passwords?"

Matt looked over at Roy but neither of them knew them. C.J. turned to face the both of them.

"Got to find them out before we go any further," she said, "which means we might need to get more info on his background."

Matt knew that might be necessary given that most people picked passwords from aspects of their life history. He imagined that Dmitri would do the same and that if they knew enough about him, they'd find the answers.

Roy leaned back in the couch looking at the both of them.

"So how's married life treating you?"

Matt looked over at C.J. who said nothing but smiled.

"It's been great," he said, "It'll be even better when Dmitri's been put away and we're free to go back to our lives."

C.J. couldn't argue with that but between now and that day was plenty of danger because they'd have to face off with the man who tried to kill them. But now that she'd gotten pregnant, she didn't know if she could keep her baby safe.

Not to mention the man she'd married who would love nothing more than to go after Dmitri hard and decisively and worry about the danger later. Right now all she wanted to do was grab hold of him and pull him close to her, to feel his warmth around her and to bury herself in his scent. But that day was not here yet and a powerful man stood between them who could stop it from ever happening.

She'd be damned if he'd succeed in doing that because although she'd just found out she carried a child, she felt a wave of protectiveness towards it, that soothed her like a warm blanket yet charged her up as well. She'd do anything to keep her baby safe and if Dmitri came after them, she'd fight back somehow.

Matt might not like that but that's how she felt and neither one of them could defeat Dmitri alone, they had to do it together.


	27. Chapter 27

She thought of the baby first when she woke up in the morning.

Matt lay there next to her, more often than not still asleep, while she found herself waking up more frequently. She had to get her sleep because she'd begun feeling more tired in the daytime. That didn't work out well for the two of them because they needed to be alert, on their toes and ready to act on a moment's notice. She thought about telling him but then she hadn't told him she'd gotten pregnant yet.

She'd been playing through the conversation in her mind, exactly how she had wanted it to go. Maybe over a candlelight dinner together in some restaurant, she'd share the news with him and excitement and happiness would light up in his eyes. Maybe after making love while he held her in his arms, while they waited for their hearts to slow down she'd slip the words out and he'd tighten his arms around her in that way of his that made her feel secure.

But they weren't in a period of their life when relaxation and romantic dinners were the norm; they were fighting to save their lives. And now she had another life to defend and protect now.

And she knew she'd be thinking that when she lay at bed beside her husband just before falling asleep again. She had no idea what lay ahead for them.

She'd just never pictured this day coming either. Back when she'd been a child, she'd moved to Matt's patch of Texas after her parents died and her uncle said he'd take her. So she'd been released to go live with him. She knew that he'd been estranged from his brother, who'd been her father. But despite the past, she still had been his own flesh and blood and he felt responsible for her.

If only he loved her.

He'd given her the basics involved with rearing a child but for emotional sustenance she had to go elsewhere. Soon enough she discovered that on one of the neighboring ranches, a widower had lived on a huge spread filled with cattle and horses while raising his only child.

A son who'd been named Matt, after his wife had died not long after his son's birth under very difficult circumstances. He'd done his best to raise his son even though he had to travel frequently as part of the life of the owner of an oil company, a member of one of the top cartels in Texas. But Matt hadn't ever wanted for anything because the ranch hands including Bo and Lamar had been his family and he'd had his Uncle Roy and his son, Will.

She'd had a fight at school which got her grounded by her uncle and she'd snuck off one day to go fishing in the stream…when he saw her in his favorite spot. The one which his father had showed him when he coaxed him out of the house for the first time in nearly a month.

Matt had been kidnapped for ransom, an experience that she soon learned had scarred him deeply in ways that he'd been unable to share with his family but over time he'd shared with her. They'd quickly gotten over fighting over the same fishing spot and became fast friends.

They'd been close friends nearly all of their lives but it was only after they'd gotten married that they'd taken it further than that. Now she had a husband and they had a baby on the way, one she still had to tell him about…which she would if only things weren't so dangerous.

If Matt knew about the baby, he'd want to shuttle her away some place, far away where they'd be safe. But whether he'd realize it or not, he needed her against this latest threat. They needed each other, the strengths that they both brought to any investigation.

So she had lain awake several nights weighing the pros and cons of sharing her news, the most important news with him and what it could cost them both.

"You awake?"

She looked over to see him still wrapped up in his sheet looking at her.

"Yeah…just woke up a moment ago," she said, "I guess we'd better get up."

He nodded and then he narrowed his eyes as if looking at her really closely.

"C.J. you feeling okay…?"

"Sure why?"

"You're just looking a little bit pale."

She didn't know what he was talking about and then…a wave of nausea hit her so hard and fast, she felt beads of sweat suddenly on the back of her neck.

"Excuse me a moment…"

She tried not to make a huge deal out of it like run to the bathroom but she extricated herself from that bed and headed there. She knew his eyes were on her, watching her and wondering what the hell was going on…unless he used his considerable intellect and deductive skills and would quickly figure it out.

After she threw up a bit, she ran some water and brushed her teeth. God, so this was what it was going to be like.

"C.J…"

She turned off the sink.

"What Houston?"

"You okay in there? You went in pretty fast."

Like a calf running away from a branding iron, she thought, not wanting to go out and face Matt, the investigator right now.

"I'm fine Houston…I think I just ate too late last night."

She walked out and he sat on the bed, still wrapped in his sheet just looking at her. Did she read suspicion in his eyes, she wondered as she walked over to him.

"You are feeling better?"

She nodded, waving her hand.

"It was nothing Houston," she said, "Like I said, maybe it was having dinner so late."

He appeared to be digesting her explanation and she hoped he wasn't also running it through his BS detector.

"Come here…"

When he asked her like that, she couldn't resist so she sat down next to him and fell easily enough into his embrace. He sure felt good, the warmth of his body against her skin and his hands…well where were they going now?

"Houston…"

He started tickling her neck with his mustache and then his mouth. But then again, she'd run off into the bathroom buck naked and under the sheet, he didn't have clothing either so as he pressed her gently against the bed and slid on top of her she didn't complain, she just got totally into it and him.

Yeah, sex might have gotten her knocked up but that didn't mean she would pass it up. After all they were married now.

Then they heard someone knocking at the front door and both of them froze. They looked at each other both assessing the situation.

"Who do you think it might be?"

Matt brushed the hair off of her face gently, his eyes searching hers.

"I don't know but I'll go find out."

He reluctantly let her go and got out of bed, reaching for his grey sweats, pulling them on. He figured being half clothed was better than none as he headed out of the bedroom. She got up reaching for her robe to follow him.

"Houston…be careful…"

She sighed as she followed in his footsteps and they reached the living room. The knocking sounded again and Matt wished he'd had the foresight to bring his gun wit him.

"I didn't bring mine either Houston," she said, "We'll just have to do our best here."

"Hey is anyone going to open up," a voice said, "It's me Chris and I picked up Carol along the way."

C.J. perked up at the mention of her sorority sister turned doctor turned massacre survivor. Matt looked over at her and she nodded and he opened the door slowly, still ready to act if necessary.

But standing there was indeed Chris and Carol, armed with sacks of food. They walked in after casting looks at Matt and C.J. and their state of dress.

"Hey I hope we didn't interrupt…something…but we thought you might be hungry."

Carol tried not to laugh as she said that, handing off a bag of what looked like breakfast burritos to C.J. who took them into the kitchen. Carol followed her while Matt helped Chris.

The two of them helped set the coffee table in the living room for breakfast while Carol helped C.J. get some juice mixed up from concentrate.

"So how is Matt handling fatherhood?"

C.J. just looked at Carol, who got the message quickly.

"You mean you haven't told him yet," she said, "He's going to find out when you start popping out of your clothes."

C.J. sighed as she stirred the juice in the pitcher.

"I know and I want to tell him," she said, "It's just that things are so crazy right now."

"But that's the story of your life and that goes for both of you."

C.J. arched her brows.

"This is a bit different," she said, "We have a vengeful crime lord trying to hunt us down."

Carol snorted as she got some glasses from the cupboard.

"But it's always going to be something," she said, "part and parcel of your line of work."

C.J. knew her friend was right but she just felt if she told Matt about the baby, he might be so concerned with keeping them safe, he'd risk his own life. If she lost him…

"Nothing's going to happen to Matt," Carol said, "He can handle himself very well."

"I know but this is so scary," she said, "Because there's more than me that's depending on him being safe and there."

Carol helped her get the glasses onto a tray to take them to the other room.

"So you feeling okay?"

C.J. nodded.

"I got sick this morning but now I feel fine…and hungry."

Carol smiled.

"Ah, the infamous morning sickness though it can occur at any time of the day."

C.J. hoped she'd be spared that because she needed to be able to work with Matt towards putting this mess behind them.

"Don't worry it'll go away after the first trimester…most likely."

C.J. smiled.

"It's unbelievable that he and I…we created someone. It's just that I wish I could tell him that and we could plan our future instead of worrying whether or not we'll have one."

"Oh you will, you'll find a way to put this behind you and move forward with your family."

Carol seemed so positive about that and C.J. wished she shared some of that optimism but she knew Dmitri had no bottom yet to his ruthlessness and as long as he had them in his sights….

They'd never know a minute of peace. Telling Matt would so complicate what had been happening and she knew she couldn't do that so she'd have to hold onto her news for just a little while longer.

But she couldn't wait to tell him.


	28. Chapter 28

**One month later…**

C.J. watched over him as he slept in the hospital bed, where she'd sat for the last couple of days since the explosion. Matt lay asleep in the bed, hooked up to an IV and a bandage on his face, not to mention other parts of him. He'd suffered injuries that might impact his equilibrium for some time to come and he'd been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past week so no one would explain to him his injuries.

She held his hand tightly now, feeling its warmth. Hoyt had called her and said that Dmitri's body would be in the morgue before it'd be shipped off to some family back in Europe. She sighted believing the world was definitely better without him. But not without her husband, who had come close to dying until the swelling had gone down inside his head.

It had been a rigorous month, given that when Dmitri made his move, no one saw it coming certainly not her when his men had grabbed her not far away from where they stayed in Venice Beach. Matt had been relentless at tracking her down and soon enough, he and a group of men had crashed Dmitri's hideout and at first when Matt had fought with Dmitri and he'd fallen down a flight of stairs, they had believed the man had been killed.

But instead he had triggered explosives that took out the compound and nearly everyone in it.

Matt had been blown 15 feet by the explosive when he tried to protect her and she'd been spared serious injury.

Her unborn baby had come through it with flying colors, the doctors told her after her examination. Not that the man lying in front of her even knew she'd been pregnant. She hadn't had the time to tell him yet.

The door opened and she turned around to see a weary eyed Roy walk inside. She smiled up at him.

"He's not waken yet," she said, "But I think he squeezed my hand this morning."

Roy walked closer to his nephew's bed.

"His doctor's encouraged by his progress," he said, "He should be more responsive pretty soon."

She leaned forward and brushed the hair back from his bandage.

"He's going to need some place to recover when he gets out of here."

Left unspoken between them had been possible permanent injuries from the blast affecting his vestibular system and possibly his hearing though the doctors didn't know yet.

She looked at Roy.

"Bo and Lamar are driving from Texas to get the ranch ready," she said, "The new owner has agreed to let him stay there for as long as he wants."

Roy sighed.

"That'll be the best place for him," he said, "and how are you doing this morning?"

She'd been sick again and feeling very tired but she couldn't be anywhere else right now but with him.

"I'm …fine…I was thinking of getting some breakfast but…"

Roy rested his hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be just fine," he said, "You need to keep your strength up."

She looked up at him and nodded before standing up and walking out of the hospital room. Nurses and orderlies passed her in the hallway as she headed past the nurses' station to the cafeteria.

* * *

One elevator flight down and she looked over to where she saw Carol sitting with a blonde guy, who like her wore a white coat. Even though Carol ran a public health clinic, she still did shifts in the hospital.

She looked up and smiled when C.J. approached her with some oatmeal and fruit juice.

"Sit down with us," she said, "Don't worry it's just Phil, we were residents together."

Phil smiled at her and C.J. could see that he felt warmly about her friend who had always attracted men to her with her beauty even back at university.

"Nice to meet a pretty lady…."

Carol rolled her eyes.

"Back off Romeo, she's a married woman."

He didn't look too chagrined, C.J. noticed as she sipped her juice.

"So how's he doing?"

C.J. looked up at her and Phil.

"He's doing better," she said, "The doctors said the test results on the scan were good."

Carol nodded.

"These injuries can turn themselves very quickly," she said, "and men don't get more resilient than Matt."

C.J. tried to take comfort in her words but it'd been a roller coaster ride.

"He's going to need time away from work to recuperate," she said, "the doctor said a couple of months at least."

Carol smiled.

"That shouldn't slow him down too much," she said, "He'll come through this fine."

C.J. hoped so but she didn't know how he'd handle being told to slow the pace down of his life even for a little while.

"So how are you holding up," Carol said, "You are taking care of yourself aren't you?"

C.J. nodded.

"Yeah, well it's been a hectic few weeks."

Carol caught the tone in her voice that belied the smile on her face and she scrutinized her friend. C.J. felt that but what could she add, that she still could see Dmitri's face when she closed her eyes.

Her friend threw her a stern look.

"C.J…you're what two and a half months pregnant," she said, "You need to get plenty of rest, good food and cut your stress levels down."

C.J. sighed, knowing all that but the instructions she'd been given just didn't fit in with her real life.

"You even had time to enjoy it?"

C.J. looked up and then thought, oh she meant the pregnancy.

"I didn't even have time to tell him he was going to be a father," she said, "I thought if I waited, I'd find the perfect words."

Carol smiled tenderly.

"You'll still have time to tell him."

C.J. looked down at her oatmeal.

"I was really scared when it all went down," she said, "I didn't know if we'd get through it this time."

Carol reached out and took her hand.

"Well you did and maybe you can take advantage of this downtime to spend some time together, just the two of you."

C.J. spooned some oatmeal in her mouth.

"We're going to the ranch when he gets sprung," she said, "Bo and Lamar are on their way there now to spruce it up."

"I thought he sold it."

"Yeah the owner's not able to spend as much time there as he thought so he says we can stay there as long as we want."

Carol leaned closer.

"Is that going to work for you?"

C.J. paused and then nodded.

"Yeah I think I just need to decompress for a while," she said, "and just put aside everything that happened."

"Can you do that," Carol said, "You've been through a lot yourself."

C.J. bit her lip.

"I can do it," she said, "I need to be strong for him until he gets better."

* * *

Roy looked down at his nephew who slept on the bed. The doctor had told him it might take some time before he fully recovered. It was likely he'd still kept all his hearing but his sense of equilibrium, too early to tell.

He didn't know how Matt would take the news that he'd be lying low for a while rather than jumping back on his feet as he'd been so accustomed to most of his life. Roy knew that a lot of it would be left on C.J. but he and Will and the others would help out all they could do. Still, as his best friend and now his wife, C.J. probably would get further with him including through his stubbornness than anyone else. Roy knew his nephew loved his wife more than anything and probably had longer than he realized.

And C.J. loved Matt, probably longer than she'd been able to show him. The marriage that wasn't real had turned their relationship on its head in the best of all possible ways. But Dmitri had cast more than just a shadow over it and in ways beyond what had happened with Matt.

She'd never let anyone see how the ordeal had affected her, not as long as Matt needed her.

"C.J…."

Matt stirred and Roy saw him open his eyes.

"It's me Uncle Roy…"

Matt focused on him and he tried to sit up, but dizziness hit him quickly.

"Careful…Let me help you," Roy said, and did just that so that Matt could sit up a bit.

"I'm still here…"

"Where did you think you were?"

Matt sighed, reaching to touch his face and then wincing.

"How long have I been out?"

"A while…you've been in and out since you arrived here…a week ago."

Matt squinted again trying to look around the room.

"Where's C.J…I thought I saw her earlier."

Roy smiled.

"She went to get some breakfast," he said, "She spent the whole night with you."

Yeah Matt thought, she had been holding his hand. He could feel her strength, her warmth and he'd tried to focus on it but his mind had gone fuzzy.

"She's been here most of the time," Roy said, "but I had to make sure she got some food and sleep."

Matt leaned back again and tried to remember when he had grabbed C.J.'s hand and they'd tried to dodge gunfire and then there's been an explosion.

The last thing he remembered before darkness had been her face.

"So how long am I in here for before they'll let me out?"

Roy looked at him a moment.

"Not too much longer if you continue to improve," he said, "but you're going to have to take time off to fully recover."

"I'm so dizzy…"

"Yeah well that's what you have to work on getting back."

Matt thought about that, already feeling restless to get back to his life and his work. Roy knew that by looking at him but matt really had to listen this time and not push himself too hard.

"Bo and Lamar should be at the ranch by the time you're discharged."

Matt narrowed his eyes.

"The ranch…?"

Roy nodded.

"Yes, C.J. and I talked it over and we feel that's the best place for you to recuperate," he said, "You'll be able to ease back into ranching chores and then…"

"Why wasn't I allowed to decide what I want to do next?"

Matt felt irate at being told to do anything even though he felt drawn back to the ranch…the one he didn't own anymore.

"I don't even have a ranch."

"The owner says you can stay there as long as you want."

Matt looked up at the ceiling.

"How long would that be?"

Roy shrugged.

"Depends on you I think," he said, "but the doctor's right, you can't return to your life the way you left it right away."

Matt knew that he wasn't the same, his balance, the dizziness, the ringing which at least this time had faded to a hum.

"What about C.J.?"

"She's your wife, she's going to be staying with you. You know better than to cross her stubborn streak."

Matt indeed knew that well but she'd have to understand that nothing had changed and he hadn't changed, so he didn't need to be coddled.

"It's for her as much as you," Roy said, "She's physically and emotionally exhausted and she's about as eager to accept help from anyone as you are right now."

Matt thought about that, he knew that about her already. She'd nearly bled to death from a bullet wound in the shoulder rather than tell him when they'd been on the run from a killer.

"Okay…then we'll both head to the ranch."

They both heard footsteps and Matt looked up to see his wife standing there looking beautiful but even as she smiled at him, she looked miles away. k


	29. Chapter 29

Matt didn't look comfortable on the drive to the ranch from the hospital. He'd wanted to stop at the office and pick up some files to work on, just to read over he told her more than once.

Uh huh…she said to him before vetoing that side trip which left him seated in silence for a while. C.J. looked sideways at him occasionally and he appeared deep in thought, but she knew he didn't like the fact that he had been exiled away from his work to finish recuperating from his injuries. But even he had to admit that he wobbled a bit when he stood up too quickly and he limped when he walked. Dizziness and headaches still reared up when he pushed himself too hard.

The doctor had given her a list of instructions which she kept hidden from her husband so he wouldn't toss it. She had received her own list from Carol as a reminder to make sure that she took care of herself during her pregnancy. She still hadn't told Matt yet. If she did, he'd be more focused on her than on himself and he needed to concentrate on getting back to full strength.

But she would tell him, she felt compelled to do so whenever she looked at him. Her heart ached to share her news with him but he hadn't been himself since he found out the extent of his injuries and the time it might take to fully recover.

Oh he would, the doctor had promised that much but how quickly…all up to Matt and he had to quickly find the balance towards progressive recovery and wearing himself out. She told the doctor she would help him find that balance.

"How long until we get there…?"

She looked at him and chuckled.

"Houston…you're like a little kid," she said, "We've both driven this route so many times."

"So it's a half hour then?"

She nodded and they both reveled in riding on the highway with the top down on her convertible. They were driving to the ranch although the helicopter had been flown there in case they needed it in an emergency. But everything looked good now and the day had heated up late in the morning. Bo and Lamar had called her earlier and told her they'd fixed the place up and it'd be ready for them when they arrived. They also added that they'd spent two days perfecting their home grown chili outside the main barn and to bring plenty of appetite.

C.J. loved their chili and as long as she ate after nine in the morning, she'd be fine though she'd started craving different fruits like mangos and honeydew so she had the ranch hands purchase plenty of both as well as chocolate mint ice cream.

"We'll be there soon."

He nodded and the doctor had said that spending time on the ranch would be the best thing giving him plenty of chance for exercising and involving himself in the chores would also help him recover more quickly. If he had to, he could retrain his balance system so that he could adjust but the doctor seemed to think that it'd mend on its own.

"So Bo and Lamar really came back to California?"

"Sure did…and they're fixing lunch for us even as we speak."

"Texas chili I hope…"

She smiled at him.

"As a matter of fact, yes…and they got plenty of ice cream for dessert."

Matt paused.

"About the sleeping arrangements…"

She shot him a look.

"Yes we'll be sharing a bed Houston," she said, "We're married after all."

His smile filled his whole face and he arched a brow slightly.

"That's what I was hoping," he said, "These nights apart from you have made me miss you."

"Me too…the doctor didn't give you any restrictions in that area," she said, "in fact, he said it might be great therapy."

"On my balance…were you planning on trying out some new positions?"

She bit her lip, her eyes lighting up.

"Maybe…but I'll warn you ahead of time."

She felt warm now talking with him like the way they had, the way she'd sorely missed in the past weeks. His face appeared to mirror her own and she knew she'd have her hands full with him soon enough.

* * *

Bo and Lamar had the chili finished and they ladled it into bowls to take to where they had more or less set up a table outside near the swimming pool. Matt had been able to help with the luggage when they left the car although she made sure he sat down quickly enough while she handled logistics in the kitchen with the two eager ranch hands. It meant so much to her that they'd returned without hesitation to the ranch even though Bo had nearly lost his life when one of Matt's enemies sent him an explosive as a birthday gift.

Matt was family, was all they said and soon enough, they'd packed up their truck and trailer and headed over a thousand miles to the ranch. They bunked in the cabin nearby leaving Matt and C.J. the main house and she had set up the bedroom with their luggage after checking in the kitchen. She'd been with Matt at his ranch so many times when he lived there and stayed in the guest room but she'd never shared the master bedroom with him.

She sat on the bed, freshly made by the hands and suddenly felt overwhelmed by the past few weeks. Her eyes stung and she didn't want to cry. So many emotions had been churning through her that she couldn't let him see or know about because he needed to keep his focus on getting better. Carol would remind her that her hormones would cause mood swings as a normal part of pregnancy. As she put her clothes in the chest drawers and closets, she eyed them critically hoping they'd last her for a month before she started outgrowing them.

After rubbing her eyes, she got up and went to go face what lay ahead downstairs, supporting the man she had loved even before she married him with what he faced. She'd harbor the strength from somewhere like she always had done when it came to him.

When she walked down stairs, he stood up to meet her.

"There you are…we're getting ready to eat outside," he said, "Better hurry before it's gone."

She smiled at his humor knowing that the twin appetites of Bo and Lamar were pretty formidable for any spread of food. But right now, she felt she could match them in that department feeling very hungry.

"I'm ready…it's been ages since we've had home cooked chili Texas style."

He nodded and slid his arm around her lower back as they walked through the kitchen to the pool area. The water including that of the adjacent hot tub looked inviting but right now the food commanded his attention.

He'd been living on hospital meals which he hated with a passion. C.J. had to sneak him a couple bags of takeout food just to keep him from starving, he told Bo and Lamar as they all settled down at the table.

Iced tea proved refreshing with the chili and slabs of cornbread that tasted of sweet butter that had been a recipe volunteered up by Lamar.

"You want to go look at the horses," Bo said.

Music to his ears, Matt thought as he looked over at C.J. but she seemed focused on her own meal. She'd been working on her second bowl of chili and had added a couple slices of mango to it when she didn't think anyone had been watching.

Odd behavior to say the least but she'd looked so tense for a while even as she tried not to show it that he didn't say anything.

"I can't wait to see that new paint that he bought," Matt said, "though for riding, I might start out a little slower."

He glanced over at his wife and she nodded her approval. The doctor had said that riding was okay since he'd been doing it so much of his life but that he should get back into it gradually.

Carol had nixed horseback riding on C.J.'s own list so she'd be grounded for quite a while. No worries, she thought, more than happy to focus her attention on the huge vegetable garden in back of the kitchen. Bo and Lamar said that there were still plenty of chilies of different types growing there.

"Okay you go riding then," she said, "I'll finish getting set up here."

Matt frowned.

"C.J. why don't you join us…?"

She shook her head.

"I think I'm a bit tired," she said, "I might take a nap."

Matt nodded and returned to his chili. If he had any questions about her, he kept them to himself.

* * *

Matt had gone out riding on an older gelding that seemed to figure out he needed some tender care while Bo and Lamar kept only slightly ahead on the trail, They had headed across the pasture to the trail leading up into the foothills, all land that Matt remembered so well.

The air had heated up but the breeze that wafted against his face smelled alpine. As he guided his horse, he thought back to C.J. and thought about how hard everything had been on her since the whole ordeal began. But especially with how it had ended, his injuries prevented them from really talking about it. She just seemed so focused on him and his health and not on herself.

He knew that was because she loved him and felt protective but he worried about her. The only reason he'd agreed to stay at the ranch and not rush back to work was because he sensed that they both needed the time to decompress from everything that had happened and they needed to be together.

If she'd figured that part of it out, she hadn't told him but he planned to make sure that she knew that just like she took care of him, he would do for her. This whole marriage deal might have started out as part of a professional assignment but it'd become much more than that, to him and he knew to her as well. They had to figure out their future together and where to go from here.

Did she feel as married to him as he did to her? She'd been a bit distant since he'd gotten out of the hospital and he intended to bridge that gap that had come between them one way or another.

Starting out with the more creative methods, he thought as he continued up the mountain trail, thinking of all the ways to show C.J. exactly how he viewed this marriage.


	30. Chapter 30

Matt enjoyed his ride up the mountain with Bo and Lamar. Any temptation he had to push his gelding faster was tempered by his doctor's words. Not that he'd ever been that good at paying that much attention to them but he did want to make it back in one piece to spend some time with his wife.

When he'd walked into the barn, she'd been heading to the garden where she'd put some time in pulling weeds and pruning some of the tomato plants. She'd always enjoyed working with plants and boasted quite an impressive array of them at her house.

She'd barely seen her house since she'd been back and a neighbor had been looking after it including her gardens. She'd been too busy fussing over him but now she had some chance to put her skills to work. Then she'd said something about taking a nap which he knew she sorely needed. He'd made his own promise that she'd get plenty of rest while they were here. Not to mention relaxation and he knew some of her favorite ways to find that. He knew she'd been very worried about him in the past few weeks but she didn't have to be anymore.

"Ever seen it so peaceful Bo," Lamar said, "It brings back so many memories."

"Sure does…I remember we used to find the cattle up here when we lost track of them."

Matt remembered when he'd raised beef cattle on the ranch though he'd sold most of them off with the ranch. Though some of the horses had remained behind including the gelding he now rode.

"You glad to be back Houston," Lamar asked.

Matt hadn't wanted to be sidelined at all but if he had to be, the ranch was the best place to serve his sentence.

"I did miss this place," he said, "though I had to sell it because I was spending more time in the city….and my two best hands had gone back to Texas."

Bo looked sheepish.

"Sorry about that boss but too much excitement here I guess."

He put it pretty lightly considering that he had nearly been blown up while opening up one of Matt's birthday presents a few years back. But it was damn good to see them again, just like old times.

"How does C.J. like it?"

Matt thought about it. She'd still seemed a bit distant during their lunch but she'd been through a lot recently too. And much of the focus had been on him.

"She's happy enough just to have a garden to play in," he said, "but she does need to do some relaxation herself."

Lamar frowned.

"She looked a bit peaked," he said, "She's been well?"

Matt looked over at the older man, wondering what he'd been getting at. She looked as beautiful to him as she always did, a little bit tired but then nothing some rest wouldn't take care of soon enough.

"She's fine…just been through a lot," he said, "She ate a lot of that chili."

Bo's eyes widened.

"Sure did…but what was that she did putting that funny looking fruit in my chili?"

He looked as if what she'd done were akin to blasphemy but Matt thought he'd been the only one to notice.

"You saw that…well I have to admit it's a bit peculiar but then C.J.'s always had her own way of doing things."

Bo shrugged on his horse.

"Guess it's okay then but it's a bit strange…even for her."

Matt supposed so but nothing to worry about, maybe it was just her way of reacting to stress.

"Maybe it actually tastes good."

Bo made a face, clearly not thinking so.

"Houston, you must be crazy thinking that way."

Lamar shrugged.

"Maybe not…remember they put some lime in that chili we had back in Amarillo."

Bo snorted.

"That's different Lamar," he said, "it added some kick to it. What kind of kick can you get from mango?"

Matt listened to the two of them go back and forth on the issue, knowing it'd take them a while to resolve it. It was good to sit on the back of a horse listening to their banter again. But if C.J. wanted to put mango on her chili that was more than fine wit h him as long as she ate.

* * *

C.J. finished a stint in the garden and went inside to clean herself off. She went upstairs and took her shower, enjoying the way the warm water soothed her muscles. Easing the tension right out of them, including that which had been there for a while and noticing that her body still looked the same. She'd thicken out soon enough, she thought and then she'd need to start adding to her wardrobe.

She'd talked to Chris on the phone earlier while Matt had been out riding and she and Roy were going to drop by for some dinner to welcome them back to the ranch. Bo and Lamar had been grocery shopping and had gotten some pretty nice steaks which with roasted potatoes would taste great. They assured her they would handle the cooking including the barbecue but she knew that Matt or she would have to keep an eye on them.

She toweled herself dry when she got out of the shower and slipped on a robe, as she walked into the bedroom, towel drying her hair. The shower made her feel better and she settled on the bed, feeling suddenly tired.

It's been nonstop for her during the past few weeks and she looked forward to some time to unwind now that she knew Matt was recovering. She'd had to come down from the past month, which had been fraught with danger and she'd been riding adrenalin for most of that time. Fear and uncertainty, but at least now it had ended and they'd both made it through.

But it hadn't all been hard; she smiled as she curled up on the bed. She'd gotten married to the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and even with all the scary parts, the uncertainty of how long life would last she wouldn't trade it for anything. They still had a lot to figure out like their future but she knew that she couldn't imagine life without him.

They'd come so close to losing everything but here they were together at the ranch where he'd spent most of his earliest years here. She had missed it so much because when he sold it, she felt that he'd cut himself off from a fundamental part of him that had grown up on a ranch. He slipped into the role of the urbanite well but it hadn't seemed like the man she'd known so long.

Her eyes fluttered as she felt fatigue catch up and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Matt put the horse away and headed back to the house. He didn't see C.J. and figured she must be taking that nap. He didn't want to disturb her so he just went to strip all his clothes off and take a shower. The ranch had mostly been like the way he'd left it but it'd been a while so he'd enjoyed reacquainting himself with it. He wondered as he rode if he'd made the right decision to sell it, to eschew the long commute to the office in favor of picking up closer digs in Malibu. Living off the beach was nice but nothing compared to a good spread of land with cattle and horses sandwiched between blue clear sky and fragrant earth.

Oh except for the love of a beautiful woman like the one he'd married.

He got out of the shower and after wrapping a towel around his waist, he walked into the bedroom where he saw her lying on the bed fast asleep. Her hair spilling on the pillow, her face more relaxed than he'd seen it in a while. He reached for the comforter at the foot of the bed and drew it around her, careful not to wake her.

She murmured in her sleep and he saw her frown, as she curled even tighter. She must be dreaming, he thought as he watched her face tense. He reached to stroke her skin to smooth out the tension there as he sat on the edge.

"No…no…."

Her voice sounded soft but urgent and he caressed her forehead.

"You're just dreaming…"

She opened her eyes then suddenly and looked past him for a moment before she finally focused on his face.

"Houston…"

She started looking around.

"What time is it…"

"Three…"

"What about dinner," she said, "We have guests coming."

He smiled down at her.

"At seven," he said, "which leaves us plenty of time."

She leaned her head up, looking at him in question.

"For what…"

He waggled his brows.

"For this…"

He leaned to kiss her and that's when she realized what he'd been wearing.

"Houston…why are you wearing a towel…?"

She made room for him to lie next to her on the bed, her own robe sliding open a bit, enough to give her husband a nice view.

He took full advantage of it, slipping his hand inside her robe to caress her breasts. She sighed at his touch, while she kissed him back.

"Nice robe…"

She chuckled as she looked up at him, slipping it further open.

"Houston…are you sure…"

He kissed her on the mouth to answer that question and she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm damn sure…I've missed you so much."

She felt her eyes sting because that went double for her. Her body had ached for his touch and so when he maneuvered her into his arms, their bodies pressed together she just closed her eyes savoring it.

"Just take it easy because you just were in the hospital."

He kissed her bare shoulder.

"I'll take it slowly…can't be sure about the easy part."

She smiled until she felt his mouth on one of her breasts as he drew one of her nipples in her mouth hardening it.

"Houston…"

"Mmmm…want me to stop?"

She swallowed dryly.

"Uh, no…just don't overdo it."

"Sure thing…," he said.

She ran her hands over his skin, his chest and his back as he continued attending to her breasts. She bit her lip as the shards of pleasure filled her and when he finally slipped between her legs, she let him. Wrapping her arms around him, she guided him inside of her and she felt him pause for a moment.

"Houston…you okay because if you're tired…"

He stroked her face and his smile…affection, desire and more than a hint of mischief. She'd have to watch out for him most definitely but in the meantime…she wrapped her legs around him holding him close to her. He started moving slowly and she closed her eyes gripping him tightly because she loved him so much.

* * *

Afterward, she lay in his embrace, their bodies drying in the warm afternoon breeze that wafted through the window. He kissed the back of her neck, tickling it with her mustache and she wiggled in her arms so she'd face him.

"Houston…"

"I'm just fine…doc said this count as exercise."

She chuckled, and reached to touch his mouth with her fingers.

"I know I worry but I came so close to losing you."

"I'm right here…"

She nodded.

"I know but when I thought…well I thought I'd be alone and I couldn't face that."

Her voice choked up a bit and he stroked her hair off of her face.

"That's never going to happen," he said, "I know I've not been easy to deal with the past few days…I'm trying to adjust to all this…Part of me wants to get back to work…get back on the horse before…"

She furrowed her brow at his admission.

"You feeling scared to go back?"

He sighed, as if he were still trying to figure things out.

"I won't know until I do," he said, "C.J. I love what we were doing but if I'm away for it a long time, am I going to lose touch with that or will it come back?"

She stroked his hair looking at him.

"Houston, I think it's going to work itself out," she said, "Your body needs to recover and your head…maybe it's a good time to spend thinking about other things. Like whether you want to do some ranching again…or we could talk about our family."

He looked at her thoughtfully and she knew her words had reached him.

"You do want one don't you?"

He nodded.

"Most definitely…life's so complicated right now but in the future…"

She looked away from him a moment and he felt her tense in his arms.

"C.J…"

She looked at him again.

"I'm here…and I think you're right," she said, her voice tight.

But as she lay in his arms, she wondered how she'd tell him that life didn't always work out as planned and in this case, she'd have it no other way.


	31. Chapter 31

Chris just stared at her not quite understanding what she just heard.

"You mean you haven't told him about the baby," she said, "do you plan waiting until labor hits or when you start popping out of your clothes?"

She and C.J. sat in the kitchen drinking iced tea while the men folk were out tending the barbecue. Bo and Lamar had got the steaks started off fine but both Matt and Roy had joined them out there to put some potatoes dipped in rosemary sauce on the grill. They'd brought out some beers though Matt had to stop at just one and knowing that, he savored each sip.

But C.J. and Chris had cooked up the vegetables and whipped up a simple salad with vinaigrette dressing. Chris of course had asked whether or not Matt knew he was going to be a father and her brows had shot up in amazement when C.J. admitted that no, he didn't yet.

So she'd asked the natural question more or less in her own blunt way.

C.J. just looked up at her, not sure how to say it.

"The timing's just not right."

Chris snorted.

"It seemed damn perfect when you conceived it."

Boy that was direct and to the point, C.J. thought but she knew that Chris was right, she should have told Matt by now.

"I almost did last night," she admitted, "we'd just well…you know for the first time since he wound up in the hospital and it just seemed perfect…but we started talking about our family and he seemed to think now wasn't the right time."

Chris shrugged.

"That's academic I'm sure," she said, "You know he's not going to give a damn about the time being right when he finds out. He's going to love that baby already like he loves you."

That made sense to C.J. for sure but every day, every hour Matt hovered between feeling fully confident that he'd recover fully and doubt creeping in whenever he had a setback. How would the knowledge that parenthood loomed in the midst of a world of uncertainty impact him? Would it scare him that a new life would be so dependent on someone who doubted his own future sometimes?

"He's going to find out soon enough," Chris reasoned, "He's a smart guy, a top notch investigator. Seriously if you wanted to keep it a secret, you should have picked another guy."

C.J. sighed, knowing there could never be someone else. Only him…sometimes she just wished they led simpler lives where they'd come home from a day's work and she'd tell him by candlelight and he'd be so happy about it. But then she loved the lives they led and how intertwined they'd come through a simple act of getting married as part of their cover on their most recent case. Still, she'd meant it when she told him she thought they could use this down time to think about other things in their lives besides work.

But he'd been chomping at the bit to get into some action and the reality that he'd have to wait to do that hadn't really hit him yet. He'd done little things like stumbled on the steps and had a couple dizzy spells but he'd still race obstacles ahead on his road to getting better. Matt had buried himself in his work, so much so that his relationships with other women including his engagement to Elizabeth had suffered along the way. She didn't want their marriage to be a casualty either even though they both loved their work.

With a baby coming, she had other concerns to think about, sometimes feeling excited, sometimes overwhelmed about the thought of being a mother.

"I hope I can do it Chris…"

Her friend looked over at her.

"Do what?"

"Be a good mother for our baby," C.J. said, "You know I never really knew mine. She died not long after my father. Maybe she needed to be with him more than staying behind with me."

Sadness had crept in her voice though that had been years past and Matt and his family had stepped in to make sure she felt she had people in her life who loved her.

"You'll be a great mother C.J…I remember how good you were with Butterfly when she needed someone after her sister's murder."

C.J. smiled thinking of the little girl who Matt and she had rescued from a pedophile. She still received regular letters from Butterfly who lived with adoptive parents in another state. Even though the situation surrounding the little girl had been so tragic, that had been when she knew she wanted children of her own in more than an abstract way. She had thought about adopting Butterfly herself but her own life had been so complicated, what with losing her boyfriend Carl and getting shot by hit men from a Chinese Triad while investigating her college roommate's murder. The danger of what she and Matt chose to face had tempered her desire for children as something to consider later on.

But motherhood loomed a lot closer now and she loved her baby already. She'd rub her abdomen while lying in bed to feel connected to her son or daughter growing inside her. She'd dream about what it'd be like to hold her baby in her arms, to see her take her first step, host her first birthday party and to see her graduate from high school.

In every one of those dreams, Matt was right there with her proud as anything and loving his son or daughter as much as she did.

"I know Houston would be the best father," C.J. said, "He's so great with Vince's children and he loved his own father."

Chris smiled.

"Then why don't you just tell him," she said, "He'll handle it just fine. We both know he'll be thrilled."

C.J. held onto that the next day when they woke up at the crack of dawn so Matt could go on a hike up the mountain before the sun rose high enough to make it really hot.

"I don't feel like it…maybe tomorrow."

She watched him get out of bed, looking gloriously naked but as much as she liked that side of him, she knew he needed to get his running clothes on and get started. He needed to engage in plenty of physical activity to help his strength return and his body's equilibrium system to retrain itself while it recovered. He had to do some exercises in that training before and after his workout.

The doctor had warned him that the exercises might make him feel more intense dizziness but over repetition and time it'd fade.

"Get your ass going Houston," she said, "before I get up and kick it."

He looked over at her.

"You're not wearing a stitch more than I am right now."

She arched a brow.

"So…I can still kick your ass so you'd best get ready, get your water bottle and power bar and get moving."

"I'll do that…tomorrow…"

Her eyes flashed.

"No…you'll do it today," she said, "Stop being so stubborn with me Houston, you should know by now it's damn useless."

She almost caught a smile on his face but he bit it back. Instead he looked angry.

"What the hell are you pushing me for C.J.," he said, "We both know it's going to be a long time before I can get back to work so what's one day?"

She sighed.

"Not much at first but if you keep saying that and keep waiting to start getting yourself better…it will turn into that longer time."

"I don't care…"

She softened her stance just slightly.

"But I do…Houston, it's pure selfishness, I want to get back to work and I need you to be there with me, because we're partners aren't we?"

He nodded at that but still glowered. She got up and while his eyes followed her shape moving around the room, she dug into his drawers in the dresser, took out some clothing and tossed it at him.

"Get dressed, and I promise I'll back off," she said, "now get dressed."

He changed his approach and leered at her.

"I've got a better idea," he said, "Why don't we both play hooky and have some fun instead?"

If he thought she'd jump at the invite and into bed with him, he'd been mistaken. She just stared at him, the light dimming in her eyes. He wondered what had been wrong with his bedside manner.

"I can't do that Houston," she said, "I mean I'll do you most any day of the week but I'm not going to let you use sex as solely a diversion now get your ass moving."

"It'd be a very pleasurable one."

She sighed, suddenly feeling nauseous and she really needed to get him out of here now. He didn't need to find out about the baby while watching her run into the bathroom and throw up what was left of last night's dinner.

"But…"

She shook her head as her eyes started to water.

"Excuse me, I'll see you later," she said, "but only after you do your workout."

She walked out of the room after grabbing her robe and he just watched her, wondering what the hell her problem was this morning.

But he changed into his training clothes.

Bo actually suited up with him to go hiking and they took off at an easy stride. The hand had told him that if he needed to pick up the pace, to not worry about leaving him behind.

Matt found the going challenging at first because he'd woken up feeling dizzy and had been grumpy when C.J. had started being all bossy with him. She had walked right out of the room and hadn't looked back.

But as he hiked further up the trail, he'd begun to feel better, and if he didn't turn his head too abruptly, fine on his feet. The sun warmed up the air and filled it with fragrant pine.

Bo regaled him with stories of what he and Lamar had been up to in Texas working on his daddy's old spread for the past several years. But then Bo had broached a more sensitive subject.

"So it took her to get you out of bed this morning?"

Matt just threw Bo an irritated look.

"She got it in her head that I was going to start my workouts today…not tomorrow."

Bo chuckled.

"Oh come on boss, you know that's she's real stubborn when it comes to what she thinks is best for you."

"What if she's wrong?"

Bo just smiled.

"She got you out of the house didn't she," he said, "and she's hardly ever wrong about anything when it comes to those she cares about."

Bo's matter of fact words struck Matt and he knew his friend was right. Every time she had pushed him to do something he didn't warm up to right away, it had always worked out better than if he hadn't finally listened.

"It's because she loves you," Bo said, "better than anyone else ever could."

Matt turned and scrutinized Bo.

"When did you start acting so bright?"

Bo didn't look fazed.

"When I got up one day and started understanding women and fillies aren't much different…maybe you could try that some time now that you got yourself hitched to such a fine one."

They continued walking but Bo's observations made a lot of sense and he thought about what he said the rest of the way. But he knew he'd upset her the way she just left him in the bedroom and how was he going to make that right?


	32. Chapter 32

Matt returned to the house after his exercise, having worked up enough of a sweat to drench his outfit and quite an appetite.

So he hit the shower first and then dressed in his usual suspect outfit of jeans and a cotton shirt before hitting the kitchen to help Bo and Lamar cook up some custom made omelets.

C.J. sat in the couch in the living room in faded jeans and a salmon pink long sleeved shirt that molded to her in ways that set a man's imagination on fire. She looked up at him from the paper she'd been reading.

"You done already…?"

He nodded.

"You ready for some breakfast."

She looked a bit uncertain for a moment but then nodded.

"Yeah…I'm pretty hungry actually."

He sat next to her on the couch but her attention remained focused on the article she'd been reading.

"I'm sorry I was an ass this morning."

She shook her head, seeing the regret in his face.

"Oh Houston, it wasn't you really," she said, "I know how hard it's been, it's just that I know if you didn't start with your training, you'd be upset with yourself later."

He nodded.

"You're probably right," he said, "I needed that kick in the pants."

"You look like you got a good workout."

His mouth quirked.

"I still have plenty of energy left."

"Oh really…for what?"

He answered her by leaning over and kissing her mouth, so thoroughly it left her breathless.

"How's that?"

She shrugged.

"That's a great warm up for some different type of exercise."

He sighed as he leaned against the couch next to her.

"It was hard at first but I had to keep up with Bo…and so it wound up going very well."

"I'll have to thank Bo…"

He sighed contently and she knew the battle inside him had toned down at least for a while.

"Now I'm dressed to do a little ranching work in the barn."

She smiled at him and rubbed his back with one of her hands.

"It suits you," she said, "You're a damn fine looking sight…but I'm going to need your help later on."

He waggled his eyes at her.

"I'll be there with bells on."

She looked at him, suddenly serious.

"There's something we need to talk about too," she said, "I have something I have to tell you."

"Is it about the office?"

She shook her head.

"No…something else…but it can wait."

They got up from the sofa and headed to the kitchen where Bo and Lamar had turned the kitchen into a hive of activity with omelets sizzling on the stove and coffee brewing. C.J. went straight to her stash of fresh fruit and grabbed a mango to slice it up for her breakfast. Matt cast her a critical eye.

"Don't tell me that's all you're eating."

She smiled.

"I thought my omelet might need a little kick."

Bo and Lamar looked at each other and then back at Matt.

"You see what we mean," he said, "C.J.'s doing strange things to our recipes."

C.J. sighed as she sliced up her mango.

"It's nothing personal guys," she said, "I just have this yen for mangos that's all."

Bo shook his head.

"Still sounds bizarre to me," he said, "but if that's what you want, you can add them when they're on the plate."

C.J. looked serious.

"Oh that's fine…I would never usurp your authority as the cooks in the kitchen and I love your omelets. But I love mangos too."

Matt watched the exchange between them, not really getting it but whatever made his bride happy was what he wanted. Now he wasn't partial to mangos but if C.J. loved them, then he'd go out and buy a bushel of them at the store if it'd make her happy.

They all took their food and ate it in the breakfast nook. C.J. found that the food had been delicious but the mangos made it extra special. Now if she could just find a way to make mango juice, she'd be totally set.

"So you going to spruce up the barn," Lamar asked, "some of the railing needs to be fixed too."

Matt nodded. He'd felt a bit dizzy after he returned but not enough to change his plan of attack on the barn. C.J would tackle the groom's room so Bo and Lamar would put some of the horses in the corral while they worked on the stalls. There had been some fresh lumber stashed in the back of the barn and so they'd be all set once they removed the rotted sections.

"It'll take us a few days to get it done but I'm not going anywhere."

C.J. heard some resignation in his voice but he seemed eager to start the project. The doctor felt that the carpentry as long as he had help and took breaks would help him develop more confidence in his coordination. After they ate, Bo and Lamar offered to wash the dishes.

"Beautiful day for it," she said, "I was thinking we could eat outside again tonight."

Matt smiled.

"I was thinking of trying out the pool after we finished a day's work," he said, "if a certain lady will join me."

She considered it and then nodded.

"Might be nice…can't pass up a guy who looks so good in a suit."

He looked mischievous.

"Who said anything about a suit?"

She felt her skin flush.

"That'll work…"

Matt smiled and he sipped his coffee thoughtfully. He could never pass up a chance to go skinny dipping with a beautiful woman and it'd bring back memories of how he'd heard laughing at the lake near the ranch one hot afternoon and saw C.J. and Julia out splashing in the water. Sans clothes…

"I'll never forget that day at the lake."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh you mean…Julia and I had been clearing out that brush and the day was so hot that we couldn't pass up a chance to go swimming. We didn't know anyone was watching.

Matt hadn't been caught but he'd brought it up years later and that had made her blush. But he assured her that she had nothing to worry about.

"The most beautiful sight I'd ever seen."

That pleased her and her cheeks turned a rosy hue.

"I was so worried back then about how I looked," she said, "I was skinny for so long."

He arched his brows.

"Not that day…you were perfect…fed a couple of fantasies of mine."

She pursed her mouth.

"Oh really…like what…?"

His mouth curved into a smile.

"I'll tell you later okay?"

That had surprised her a bit because she hadn't known he had harbored any such thoughts about her back when they'd been in their teens. God knows, she hadn't been unable to avoid having her own fantasies about her best friend. Made her adolescent years very interesting.

"I always felt coltish next to her," she said, "Julia was so beautiful and guys flocked around her."

He looked at her a long moment, wondering why she felt she had anything to worry about back then.

"You were always real pretty," he said, "All my friends thought so."

She tilted her face.

"Really…?"

He nodded as he'd taken more than a share of ribbing for not making a play for her. But they'd been best friends first and he hadn't been serious back then about the women he dated and shared the sheets with and it could never be less than so with her.

"Oh definitely…"

They'd spent some years apart while he'd been in army intelligence and she'd been finishing up college and going to Harvard. But when they finally reunited when she did as she promised and met to interview for a position at his company, she'd knocked his socks off.

Dressed in a conservative suit, her hair swept up but he didn't know what had happened to his best friend.

He'd seriously considered making a play for her including on their first business trip together to London but had decided against it. He was into casual sex with different women back then like the proverbial guy in a candy store and it could never be that way with her. She could have missed up his whole social life, and twist him into knots like she did right now.

"I'm so glad I finally came to my senses."

She sipped her orange juice.

"Me too…I mean I wondered if you ever would and we'd get together," she said, "but I could have done the seduction part a lot sooner."

He smiled, warmly remembering that night back at the hotel suite where they'd truly began their marriage.

"I'll never forget those moves," he said, "I thought I died and gone to heaven for a moment."

She felt warmth fill her insides at his admission. It'd been very special to her too including for a reason she hadn't told him yet. That it was likely that had been the night they created their baby.

She rubbed her abdomen reflexively. She still had to tell him and she planned to do that tonight.

* * *

Later they all worked in the barn, which at least gave them reprieve from the heat wave that had swept through the region that day. C.J. made sure her husband had plenty of water and shade to work with while the hands dealt with moving the horses out of their starts and watering them up in the corral.

She'd been in the groom's room, where a fan blew air against her as she wiped the dust off the furniture and the shelves. At least the small bed had fresh linens but it'd take some time to do chores like rub the accumulated grime off the windows and deal with cob webs and inches of dust in the corners.

Matt had been busy working on the stalls when she'd gone and checked on him. He'd been almost up to speed though he had to stop and hold onto the rail to get his bearing at times. He looked a bit frustrated to be stalled in his work but when he saw her looking at him, he smiled.

She left him to go back to the groom's room and worked there, thinking about their future. When they'd find themselves a spread like this one of their own, hopefully in time to prepare it with a nursery for their first baby, but so many changes would come with him or her. Late nights spent on feedings and months of exhaustion for both of them but at the same time, she felt excited. She'd need to take time off later in her pregnancy and during the first few months after its birth…and she had to figure out with her husband how to balance the inherent risks and unpredictable nature of their work with their developing family.

Maybe she'd go back to practicing criminal law, she'd felt an inkling since their run in with Dmitri whose image still haunted her sleep. The days she'd been too focused on worrying about whether or not Matt would run back to L.A. and return to investigating cases. He did check in with Roy and Will about how they were running his business. Will had trained to get his investigator's license and would soon be trying out his skills in cases. Matt knew he'd prove very good at it but he'd miss his own involvement in his firm just as keenly.

She'd have to find different ways to keep him occupied while he recovered.

Her cell phone rang and she saw Roy's number on it so she answered it.

"Hi, what's up Roy?"

His voice turned serious immediately and she felt a chill through her.

"It's Will…he was out looking for a missing child and now he's missing too."

C.J. sat down on the cot.

"Oh my god…"

"Hoyt's put out an APB for him and a white van he was seen investigating before his disappearance."

C.J. knew how it could go down having been kidnapped herself and she'd been lucky plus she had a very protective best friend.

"Should I get Houston on the phone?"

Roy paused.

"No…no I don't want him rushing down here," he said, "He's not well enough to handle this kind of situation."

C.J. couldn't argue with his assessment but try explaining that to Matt when one of his loved ones was in danger. He would put his own health and safety way on some back burner and probably try to fly the helicopter back to L.A. in a flash.

"You can't tell him…not now," Roy said, "If something happens to my son…but I don't want to lose my nephew."

She heard the quiet urgency in his voice and knew he was right.

"I don't know how I can keep it from him."

"Just try for a while," Roy said, "I'll get back to you when I have more news."

She hesitated and thought she had to do what he said because if she didn't, something terrible could happen to her husband if he overestimated his current ability to do his job. No, she couldn't do that, she loved Will like a brother but if Roy could handle the situation, she'd keep the father of her own baby safe.

She'd keep it to herself right now and pray that Will would be found without telling Matt.


	33. Chapter 33

C.J. got off the phone hoping she'd made the right decision not to tell him. But damn, she wished she felt better about it. She knew he'd be pissed but hopefully that could wait until after Will and the child turned up safely.

And Roy was right, if Matt got wind that his cousin and a child were in danger, he'd rush to his helicopter and take off in it before anyone could stop him. He wouldn't be thinking nor would he care that he wasn't physically up to the rigors of his work let alone the dangers at awaited around every corner. She knew if he tried to find his cousin and wound up facing off against ruthless kidnappers, he would be in serious trouble. His line of work demanded complete mental and physical sharpness, anything less than his best would put him at grave risk himself, not to mention those he'd gone in to save.

She put her cell phone away and left the groom's room running into Matt who had started putting up some of the new wood railing with Bo and Lamar's help. He had already worked up quite a sweat.

"You are drinking plenty of water?"

He nodded.

"Almost done here…just one more plank…"

C.J. folded her arms.

"Houston, you don't have to do it all in one day," she said, "You're not supposed to overdo it."

"I'm fine…I don't plan on staying cooped up for the next while."

She sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"I didn't say you had to do that," she said, "I just want you to be careful."

"I know but I've been doing construction since I was back in college," he said, "and I've done tons of repairs on ranches since I was younger than that."

She knew that but it didn't ease her concern and besides, it could be worse. He could be taking off in the helicopter right now heading back to L.A. But the reason he wasn't had to do with her not telling him about his cousin's disappearance. She felt fear well inside of her of what might have happened to Will. What if he'd been injured or was lying dead somewhere waiting to be discovered?

That would kill Matt after he'd been so excited to be reunited with the cousin he thought had been dead for years in a war zone. No, she couldn't think that the worst had happened, she had to remain hopeful that Will would turn up safely at least until Roy or Hoyt told her otherwise. Right now she had to focus on keeping her husband safe, and Roy had understood that.

She remembered when she first heard that news had surfaced that Will who had been buried by his grieving family without a body might actually be alive, held prisoner by some warlord. Matt had grabbed onto that little bit of hope that it might be true and had rushed head first into trying to find his cousin with the help of his uncle's connections and Too-Mean's muscle.

Only that muscle hadn't returned home which tempered the joy that they all felt by Will's recovery. It'd been an even rockier road for Will who had turned suicidal unable to cope with the PTSD resulting from his horrific ordeal. That and a run in with some bad customers had literally pushed him to the brink.

In this case the top of a skyscraper and that left Matt running around frantically trying to save his cousin's life with every investigative skill, every contact that he had in his arsenal. She had hurt for the both of them, doing her part to keep Will from jumping. She had admitted to him that she loved Matt more than anything and had been thinking…well it didn't matter because not long after that, he'd hooked up with the fragile heiress Elizabeth.

The polar opposite of her and she'd buried her words she wanted to tell him because she'd realized that she had been about the furthest woman away from what he'd really wanted in his life partner and wife.

She left the barn and went back into the house to get a snack feeling suddenly quite hungry, even though her stomach remained tied in knots, her attention on her cell phone willing someone to call her back with good news.

But if it were bad news, she'd have to tell Matt. She couldn't leave it to anyone else because she was his wife and she'd promised to be with him for better or worse. Yeah, the wedding had been fake but she had repeated those vows, from someplace much deeper than the role she'd been playing.

They'd come from the heart.

* * *

Matt watched her go and thought she looked a bit tired. But then the groom's room had plenty to do in terms of whipping it back into shape. The new owner had traveled a lot and had left a couple hands to watch the place but they'd taken off to do some rodeos in Nevada and Arizona so more had needed to be done.

He'd felt dizziness probably from the heat so he kept his water close and he had to stop to center himself because he felt some vertigo come along. It frustrated him because he normally could work nonstop for hours before even needing to pause but now…he wiped his brow and waited for his steadiness to return, damn unpredictable too. He thought of all the work that waited for him back in L.A., the caseload he'd left behind, already stacked high before he took that last assignment.

But he'd been grounded and he knew he'd be hearing from C.J. if he violated the terms of his exile. And it hadn't been all bad because he loved spending time with his wife, especially in bed. Who'd have ever thought that he'd find out that the most incredible sexy woman would be the one who he'd grown up? Yeah, he knew she had knocked him through a loop when he caught her skinny dipping with Julia back then but he'd had no idea.

Really, but now that he did, he intended to make up for lost time. Starting when she came back from the house in that groom's room now that Bo and Lamar had gone to town to get more groceries…then his phone rang.

He looked at it and saw Hoyt's number and took it.

"Hi there…what's up?"

A long silence met him.

"I would have thought Roy would have told you."

The gravity in Hoyt's voice caught his attention immediately.

"Told me what?"

More silence and Matt felt edgy, then irritated.

"What aren't you telling me Hoyt?"

The lieutenant sighed.

"It's Will…he's disappeared while on a child kidnapping case he and Roy were handling."

Matt's heart beat doubled and he ran his hand through his hair.

"Oh God…I'm on my way."

"Houston…I really don't think…"

Matt gritted his teeth, mentally preparing how long it'd take him to warm up his chopper way before he remembered he wasn't supposed to be piloting it. Maybe C.J. would fly it for him and once he got to the office, he'd take over.

"I'll be there…in 45 minutes."

"Houston…I've got my best men working on looking for him," he said, "Issued a couple of APBs and an Amber Alert was issued for the kid."

Matt's mind worked quickly but damn, if the dizziness. He had to hold onto the rail of the stall. No, he had to focus, he had to go get C.J. out of the house and they had to head to the helicopter…now.

"I'll see you soon."

He clicked off his phone and headed to the house to find C.J.

* * *

She looked up and when she saw his face, she knew.

"It's Will isn't it?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"You knew?"

She nodded.

"Roy told me…Houston, we didn't want you to know until we heard more news."

His eyes widened, he couldn't believe what he just heard. That his wife would keep something so critical from him…what had she been thinking?

"C.J. what gives you the right to keep information about me about my own family," he said, "You don't have that right."

She folded her arms and held her ground.

"Houston, you're hurt…you're recovering and you can't do this…you can't go head to L.A. and can't go after your cousin…you're not well enough."

He glared at her.

"I'm just fine…I'm mostly better…"

"Hardly…and you know as well as I do that mostly isn't enough with this type of situation," she said, "You could get hurt or worse if you run in there less than 100 percent."

"That's not for you to decide…"

"Roy doesn't want you there and Will's his son," she said, "but he doesn't want to lose you to get him back."

Matt grew agitated.

"That won't happen, I will find him and bring him back," he said, "I did before."

She knew that but this situation was much different. The police could handle it with their trained personnel including their SWAT team and he needed to sit this one out.

"No Houston…you can't…and I'm not going to let you."

He shook his head.

"You can't stop me," he said, "and all you have to do is pilot the chopper back to L.A."

She gritted her teeth at him.

"No…absolutely not going to happen," she said, "I'm not helping you with what could get you killed."

He sighed, a small part of him hearing what she told him.

"C.J…it's no different than what we do every day."

She put her hands on her hips.

"The hell it's not Houston," she said, "This is family, that makes it personal and we both know how you get when someone messes with family and you're not well…we both know that too."

He walked away from her and she grabbed his arm.

"Don't you do it Houston," she said, "I'll stop you."

He spun on her pulling away from her.

"You tried that already by keeping it from me," he said, "God, I can't believe you of all people would ever do that to me."

She sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face, her eyes focused only on him.

"I did what I had to do to keep you safe," she said, "If anything happened to you…"

He cut her off.

"Nothing's going to happen except I'm going to find Will."

She shook her head and stood in front of him leaving him fidgeting with indecision what to do next and not too steady on his feet. Couldn't he see that his body just wasn't up to what he demanded of it? No of course not, he was too wrapped up in believing he'd lose his cousin if he didn't act.

All over again.

She ached for that part of him that began so long ago when Will had first disappeared and been declared dead by the military.

"Get out of my way C.J."

Oh he meant business; she knew that but so did she. No way would she budge to let him leave her…possibly for the last time. She rubbed her abdomen without realizing it but in her mind, she thought of their baby.

She'd be damned if he or she would grow up without a father like she did.

"I'm not kidding," he said, "Either you get that chopper warmed up for me or get out of my way."

She heard the anger in his voice and she didn't flinch though she felt more than the sting. But she couldn't do it….she couldn't wait for the phone call to arrive that he'd been killed because he'd been in the cross hairs of someone's gun or in a fight with a bad guy before getting a dizzy spell.

But she knew how stubborn he could get too and that he'd keep at it until he won because he wasn't thinking sensibly right now. Adrenalin and emotion ruled his mind now.

"You told me you had no problem with what I did," he said, "but then Elizabeth told me that too."

Oh that pissed her off that he'd bring his ex-fiancée up as a basis of comparison. But she had to keep her own anger in check and that was getting harder.

"Don't you dare compare me to her," she said, "Though maybe she was right…maybe it's too much for any wife to stay up nights waiting for you to come home, to have to bury you because you let your emotions get in the way of your sense."

He looked at her a long moment, his muscles as tense as she'd ever seen them.

"If you really love me…"

She waggled a finger at him.

"Don't even go there Houston…Just because I don't want to lose you…god, I almost just did and then Dmitri…"

She closed her eyes and willed herself to go forward and he actually waited for her to finish.

"I can't do this…not right now…I can't lose my best friend in the world…my husband who it took me forever to figure out that I wanted…"

"C.J…"

"No you shut up Houston," she said, "I can't do this…I can't lose you this way. If you were well, I'd kiss you goodbye and send you on your way…but you're not…you just don't know and right now you don't care. But I do and I have to tell you not to go, knowing it will never be enough…that you might hate me for it."

His brows arched up and he sighed.

"I could never hate you for anything but this is something I have to do. It's who I am…and I've lost family too. I can't lose Will again…"

She listened to him, knowing she would never, ever change his mind but she'd known that going in how determined he could be in a situation like this one. So she did what she couldn't and she let him go…but not without saying some words mined from inside her.

That finger wagged again but her voice had quieted down. Anger replaced by resignation, from someplace where she really knew him.

"No…okay Houston if you want to go get yourself killed, go ahead…I can't stop you…what I say doesn't matter…so go right ahead…but don't expect my support because …I lost my father when I was a little girl…and part of me never got over it…and I'll be damned if my baby will grow up never knowing his father…"

A paused greeted her.

"Your what?"

She nodded.

"Yeah…I'm pregnant and I don't want to have to explain to our baby someday that the reason that he or she won't ever know you is because you didn't recognize your own limits. You're not superman Houston…you're a guy and yes…you can be broken and you can die…and you can leave people behind to never get over it."

If he had something to say to that, she didn't hear it because she walked away from him, slamming the door behind her. He always knew she had a way with words and could stun him into silence, never more than she just did.


	34. Chapter 34

Matt just stared at the door that C.J. had slammed when she went outside. She'd been angry with him just as he'd been with her. Only he hadn't dropped a bombshell on her.

Only seconds ago, he'd been on his way out the door powered by adrenalin and not much common sense to go rescue his cousin over in L.A. But now, he just sank onto the couch in the living room, totally stunned at what just happened.

That's when he realized he couldn't leave the ranch, that he had to do what felt nearly impossible to him right now which was to trust others to do what they could do to find Will and the child.

His place was here because she'd been right, if he went, he might be more of a hindrance than the man who would bring his cousin home. He fought against the part of him that still tried to push him to head to the helicopter and do what came naturally to him. Sitting and waiting for news had always driven him crazy, because he just wasn't good at allowing others to take the lead when it came to quick decision making about dangerous situations.

But watching C.J. standing there so angry, yet so damn protective of him at the same time, he never should have underestimated how much she loved him even before they'd fallen in love. The woman who was now his wife.

His pregnant wife.

He'd thought about going after her but he knew that right now, she needed her space. Something in her eyes that he'd read there told him that so he'd fight his instincts to run after her too.

So instead he sat and waited for news on his cousin, which would come to him through a phone call.

Then the door opened again and there she stood in front of him. A plethora of emotions swam across her face, and her body remained tense.

"C.J…"

She softened her stance with a slight smile.

"You're still here…"

He nodded.

"I…C.J. you were right," he said, "It pisses me off that you are but I'm going to have to trust that those who are there can handle it."

She still stood there but her posture had relaxed a bit.

"Houston…Hoyt's got the best officers working on it, and Roy's got his own connections."

Matt knew that but he also knew that she hadn't moved closer to him.

"So you came back."

She sighed.

"I said a lot of harsh things to you but I just got scared…but this isn't about me or about you…it's about Will."

"Yeah well, I haven't heard anything yet about whether he's turned up."

She wrapped her arms around herself and sat in a chair, close to where he sat but not enough.

"Then we wait…"

They had both done more than their share of that when either one of them had been injured on the job or someone close to them. She knew it'd been like hell waiting to hear from some surgeon entrusted with the task of putting him back together and she suspected he'd felt the same way when it'd been her turn. She did know that whenever she woke up in a hospital, there he'd been holding her hand infusing warmth into her.

But now she sat in her chair as they conducted their vigil, while he remained on the couch. Both of them focused on Will and not anything else.

Roy called Matt about an hour later and told him that Will had turned up at a marina with the missing child after both of them had escaped from the crime lords who had kidnapped the child to use as leverage against a rival organization.

He passed the information onto C.J. and told his uncle to bring his son over for some barbecue the next day.

"I'm so glad Houston…I was scared…"

He looked at her and read that in her eyes.

"I was too and I have to tell you that sitting and waiting for news…it's just not easy for me."

She sighed, hugging herself with her arms.

"Me neither Houston but waiting to hear from you would have made it even harder."

He paused looking at her, knowing that what had happened had taken its toll on her and that included more than just the latest crisis. She'd been running on adrenalin for three months with no real respite even after Dmitri no longer remained a threat.

If he had to do it over again, would he have agreed to go after Dmitri knowing what would happen? He didn't know the answer to that now looking at her. But she looked so beautiful despite everything she'd been through and now he could concentrate on what she had told him.

"So you're pregnant?"

She looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah…Carol confirmed it but I already knew," she said, "I was going to tell you but it's just been so crazy, and Dmitri was gunning for us and I thought it'd just distract you."

He just stared at her.

"I know it sounds crazy now and I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier…and I know the baby wasn't planned and…"

Before she knew it, he'd patted the sofa.

"Come here…"

She looked at him and she hesitated.

"Houston, this must come as a shock I know but I want this baby so much. I've had more time to let it sink in…I'm happy and I'm scared…both…if that makes sense."

He patted the couch again and gave her that look that it made a lot of sense.

"C.J…come on over here and we can discuss how I feel about it."

She got up and when she went to join him. He pulled her down on the couch and wrapped his arms around her pulling closer to him, holding her tight.

Then he kissed her and she forgot everything else she needed to tell him, his arms rubbing her back soothingly as his lips kept her own very busy. Finally they broke for air and she studied his face, touching it with her fingers.

"Does this mean you're happy?"

He smiled at her in a way that made her insides melt.

"Most happy…I can't tell you how much so…"

He kissed her again, and this time she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her. The couch was a bit cramped for the both of them but it didn't matter as she settled next to him.

"It's so much to grasp," she said, "and yet I don't know it feels like it was meant to happen."

He stroked her hair off of her forehead, thinking that about the whole marriage.

"Are you feeling okay?"

She nodded against him.

"Yeah…a little sick in the morning but that's normal…and maybe as you just saw, a little hormonal."

He smiled.

"That's okay…it's been a hard couple of months but starting right now, it's about to get a whole lot easier."

She heard that tone in his voice and knew he was up to something.

"Houston…"

"C.J. you've been running ragged and you look tired."

She snorted.

"Well thanks Houston."

He realized he was going to have to proceed gently with her.

"What I mean is that I think you need to get some rest," he said, "I read somewhere it's important for expectant women to get extra sleep."

C.J. sighed remembering Carol giving her the same advice and once the adrenalin dissipated out of her, she felt fatigue hit her.

"I tell you what," he said, "Why don't we head upstairs to the bedroom and we'll both take us a nap because I'm feeling really tired too."

She looked at him concerned.

"Oh Houston, you're the one that's been injured," she said, "you don't need to look after me."

His face grew tender.

"I want to C.J…but you're going to have to let me do that for you," he said, "You need to relax and just accept the fact that I'm going to take care of you too."

She felt her eyes sting unexpectedly then because that sounded so nice. He untangled himself from her to get off the couch but he grabbed her hand to help her up.

Then he swept her off of her feet.

"Houston…"

"It's okay…this will get us there faster."

She cast him a wary look.

"We are going up there to sleep aren't we?"

He looked innocent.

"Of course…in a little while…"

She felt a thrill of anticipation race through her, nudging its way past her tiredness. Maybe it was okay if they didn't go to sleep right away.

She cuddled up with him afterward, the warmth of his body wrapped around her made her feel secure in a way she hadn't for a while. It's been such a rollercoaster since it all started but at least now maybe life would settle down a bit.

At least for a little while…

He'd carried her up the stairs straight into the bedroom and it hadn't taken that many kisses to get their clothes off. He stroked her waist with his hands.

"So where…"

She smiled, taking hold of one of his hands and placing his palm over her lower abdomen.

"Right here…"

He just stood there, transfixed even though it was still very early on. Then she started putting her hands on him, on his chest…his abs…and then…

He closed his eyes and sighed when she touched him there feeling him grow in her hands.

His response was to push her closer to the bed where they fell together.

"Is that…"

She smiled.

"It's perfect…"

He thought so too and held onto her closely afterward while they both came back down to earth.

"Houston, I think we're both going to be okay," she said, "despite ourselves."

He strummed his fingers across her bare back thinking of all the times lately they'd been working towards that in the midst of chaos. Now at least here on the ranch, they faced more peaceful days where they could spend their time building their relationship and preparing for their baby's birth.

"We're going to need to find a place…with room for that nursery."

She agreed.

"We can call the realtor back in the morning," she said, "and maybe she'll have some places lined up for us."

Matt knew that starting their family did mean finding a bigger house. The realtor had recommended that they look at some of the fixer uppers that had been old ranch houses back in the heyday. Many of them just needed the right people to come along and fix them up.

He thought they could do that with some help, since they had some friends who were contractors.

"And don't forget the space for the horses," she said, "and a good sized barn."

He nodded, making a mental list with her.

"A helipad too…"

He agreed with that too.

"We'll get up bright and early…after you've had plenty of sleep."

She snuggled against him, thinking that the perfect plan but always aware of the fact that life seldom went as predicted.

All the more reason to savor the times when things fell into place.


End file.
